


The Ineffable West

by sherlockruiningmylife



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: 19th Century, Bored Crowley (Good Omens), Changing POV, Death (Good Omens) - Freeform, Domestic Fluff, Dreaming, Enochian, Female Aziraphale (Good Omens), First Kiss, Fluff, Genderfluid Character, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Ineffable Idiots (Good Omens), Jealous Crowley (Good Omens), Little bit of blood, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining, Old West, Oregon Trail, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Strong Aziraphale (Good Omens), They speak Enochian when they are alone or don't want humans to understand, Time doesn't work right, Wild West
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 40,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28888347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlockruiningmylife/pseuds/sherlockruiningmylife
Summary: Set in the 1850's Crowley and Aziraphale both get assignements to head West. A slow meandering journey takes them across the United States and into what is now Colorado. I have tried not to romanticize the time, because to be honest it would have been an awful time to be alive. But I also did not want to write about being miserable, so maybe there is a rosy lens blurring my view. Anyway, this is the first fic I have written so there is no great plan here. Just had this idea and went with it. I am American so rather than trying to set it in London I set it in America. But it takes a while to get out of London, so that plan failed me.
Relationships: Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Bad News

**Author's Note:**

> If you catch any mistakes let me know and I will get those corrected!

London, SoHo – Mid-March 1850 – 5 p.m.

Crowley wasn’t sure what he was feeling while walking towards the bookshop. He had decided to take the longest route by foot to give him time to determine the right way to talk to Aziraphale. He wasn’t angry and would never admit to being sad. But this new assignment made Crowley bitter. He and Aziraphale had finally reached a point in their immortal lives where the angel may, on a good day, consider them _good_ friends. And on most days, they would be, at the very least, decent acquaintances. They had gone long periods of time without seeing one another before, but ever since the opening of the bookshop they hadn’t missed talking to one another for any more than six months at a time. They often saw each other at least once a week, going to lunch together or out to see a show. Crowley’s favorite times were when they spent an entire evening getting drunk in the back of the bookshop. This new assignment would take Crowley across the world for at least half a decade, if not more. Maybe he could find an excuse to travel back to London a couple times, but it would undoubtably shift their relationship. Not knowing when you would talk to someone next made things feel more distant and less secure.

When Crowley reached the corner where the bookshop was first visible, he took a deep breath, then strode quickly to the front door. Just as he was about to enter, the handle turned and there stood his, no not his, the angel. Crowley, startled, and forgot the carefully prepared speech he was to give Aziraphale.

“Oh, my dear boy, I was just headed over to see you. I am quite afraid I have some bad news. Seeing as you are already here would you please come in and sit for some tea?” It wasn’t really a question but the demon would never admit to following any direct request from the angel, and Aziraphale knew this well. It was part of their practiced dance around one another to feel neither guilty nor gullible to the enemy’s wiles. Hearing the question made Crowley feel more put out than he already was. Had Aziraphale been looking at his aura, he would have noticed it was now not only bitter, but also a bit sad and distraught. How did he, a demon, feel so many emotions. Crowley pushed them down and walked into the bookshop.

If he hadn’t been so focused on his own thoughts, Crowley may have noticed Aziraphale’s aura. It was strikingly similar to his own, though streaked with more sadness. He also may have noticed the sign on the door that said “Closed for renovations”. Or the added miracles and energy to dissuade any interest in the building from passersby. As it was, the demon entered in a cloud of his own misery, oblivious to his surroundings. What finally caught his attention was that when he entered the bookshop, it was not only clean, but organized. As Aziraphale was closing the door, Crowley started to really look at the angel. It is easier for demons to see auras than angels. And Crowley quickly took notice of the desperate aura Aziraphale was putting off. He couldn’t just announce his departure when ~~his~~ the angel was in such a state. Crowley began to panic and rewrite his entire speech in the few seconds it took Aziraphale to walk past him to the kettle. As Aziraphale began preparing tea, Crowley sat in one of the chairs that had been cleared out of the way.

“Zira, is everything alright?” Crowley asked tentatively.

“Well, my dear, I am rather worried I have some bad news to give you. I am going to have to close the bookshop for the foreseeable future, well I say foreseeable but I suppose that is a rather silly phrase. Afterall, you and I both know that even though I am an angel, I am not omniscient.” Aziraphale was stalling, he knew that, and Crowley would be able to tell that he was just buying time, as if time could be bought. Before he could continue his ramble, Crowley cut in.

“You have to close the bookshop? Is Heaven forcing you to get rid of it! That would be just like Heaven, can’t ever let you have material things so they just take them all away.” Crowley was beginning to feel genuine anger. Heaven, the bastards, didn’t have the right to just take Aziraphale’s joy like this. “If they are going to force you to sell it then sell it to me.”

“What would they say then, an angel giving something to a demon…”

“I would still let you keep it as is, won’t even touch a thing.”

“That is quite kind dear,” Crowley tried to look offended at this and opened his mouth to remind the angel, that he is in no way kind, that it just wasn’t in his job description to be. But Aziraphale cut him off before he got the chance, “but that is not what is happening. I was just headed over to tell you that I have a new assignment.”

Crowley had almost missed what the angel was saying while trying to plan how he could get the bookshop while making it look like it wasn’t him that had bought it. And all while off on his new assignment across the world. When Aziraphale’s words registered with him he became confused.

“Oh, well,” Crowley began, struggling to figure out what to do with this. A new assignment, that the angel has to close the bookshop for, what could this be? Where was Heaven sending him to? Then it dawned on him. “Zira, you wouldn’t be going to America, would you?”

Aziraphale’s expression was all the more that Crowley needed to see. He let out a roar that may have been a laugh, though it was hard to tell when demons were laughing. “You’re kidding me! If our head offices would just communicate, even a little, they would be so much more effective.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about my dear. Nothing you have said makes any sense. How did you know I am going to America? Have you been spying on me!”

“Angel, we have known each other for, what is it now, about six millennia. Why would I waste my time _spying_ on you, when you tell me everything of importance anyway? Why do you continue not to TRUST ME!”

“Because you are a DEMON, we are hereditary enemies.”

Crowley was suddenly furious, he got up and stormed out of the shop. _Enemies_ , that is what they were going to be today. You know someone for as long as time itself, and you are still _just_ enemies. What is it going to take to get through to this angel that being a demon is just his job, not like Crowley has any actual allegiance to Hell. He knows that in general demons should not be trusted. But…. Crowley turns around and storms back into the bookshop. In his fit of anger, he had forgotten the reason he was there.

“Angel, you may not need to go to America, tails I go heads you do.”

“What?” Aziraphale had busied himself by picking up the teacup Crowley had left untouched.

“ _The Arrangement_ Angel. Put the tea back and sit down. We have a coin to flip.”

“Oh.” Aziraphale blushed, maybe assuming the worst of Crowley had been an overreaction but it was habit, keeping up appearances. “I suppose I ought to apologize then, I had no idea you were set to go to America.”

“Well that is what I came here to tell you, but you beat me to it.”

“I am not sure though if The Arrangement is going to work this time. You see I only feel comfortable giving you small miracles to preform or blessings to give. I do hope that doesn’t offend you, my dear. But this one, is well, a rather extended assignment.”

“Oh, right, of course.”  
  
  



	2. The New Arrangement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Aziraphale come up with a new arrangement for their trip to the American West. It is not quite what Crowley was expecting, but who is he to deny the angel?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is definitely the longest chapter for a while. I got a bit carried away with the story here. The plan is to post a chapter every couple of days.

Aziraphale’s Bookshop – Same Day – 8 p.m.

Crowley sprawled across the chair he had deserted moments ago and took off his sunglasses. He had a feeling they were in for a long evening. He was still upset with the angel but he knew that the task at hand was what he needed to focus on. Picking up the tea that had gone cold, he took a sip, it was bitter having sat there for so long. It was not like Aziraphale to mess up tea. Setting it aside he started, “We may want something stronger for this.”

“Of course! I have a fantastic case of wine I picked up in France when we were there back in, oh, 1789 I believe. Still a couple bottles left.”

“I remember,” Crowley’s anger with Aziraphale from just a while ago was nearly gone with the memory of his angel in the Bastille. Not _his_ angel, the angel, looked at him with a sly smile. “If I recall it took a minor demonic miracle to get that case back across the channel.”

“Yes, well…” Blushing a little more now, Aziraphale turned away to go find the wine.

Crowley watched as he walked off, he supposed that was the best form of apology he was going to get. Aziraphale wanted to remind Crowley and himself that they can trust each other, across time, and the seas.

“What does Heaven want from you in the Rockies? To thwart my wiles of course but I haven’t even got there yet.”

“ _Gabriel_ ,” The angel almost spit the name out, “came by to tell me that I am supposed to go out there and ‘fend off the evils of the wild west’. He didn’t even tell me where exactly. I don’t think that he has been out there yet and seems to think everything is close together like it is here. He just explained that a lot of towns were popping up and that there was general lawlessness and disorder that I ought to fix for Heaven’s sake. Then mumbled something about the greater good and left. I tried contacting Uriel for more details on my actual assignment but no one seems to know, just that I am told to go do some good for a few years in this general area. They specified that I should spend my time thwarting ‘the outlaws’ and that the locals were not really to be any concern of mine.”

Crowley was never one to count himself lucky, being a Fallen Angel was certainly proof enough for his lack of luck. But in this one aspect he considered himself fortunate. Because at least Hell knew they were awful and had no pride in their work. Heaven tried to keep face and pretend they cared about “the greater good”, but it was really all the same. Just paperwork and means to an end.

“Hell did not give me much more to go on, I got directions to go to a new settlement and to encourage a gang of ‘outlaws’. Give them a little nudge and kind of lead them for a few years. Protect them from getting stamped out by local sheriffs and deputies or whatever fancy words they care to name themselves. And while I am there, I am supposed to encourage gambling, no details but just minor temptations. Though I think they will likely manage that just fine on their own, I don’t mind taking the credit for it. _Tedious_.”

“What is this settlement called?” Aziraphale was decidedly not jealous of these instructions, but would it kill Heaven to just give him a little more to go on?

“Not sure, but I know how to get there. Hell just kind of throws the information in my head. Hurts like, well, like Hell. But I guess it works.”

“Our assignments are designed to perfectly cancel one another.”

“Yeah, maybe we should just not go, they wouldn’t know the difference.”

“Ha, yeah that would be funny…” Aziraphale mused until, “OH DEAR ME NO! That would not be okay at all my dear. What if they checked up on us and we weren’t there? What would I write in my reports? What if there are other angels there and they tell Gabriel that they haven’t seen me anywhere? I could get in serious trouble. And if they are sending you this must be important. It has to be part of The Plan. I cannot go against The Plan.”

Crowley sat, watching Aziraphale’s panic grow. He decided that it had gone on long enough at this point and was ready to calm the anxious angel. “Relax Angel.” Crowed the demon. “It was just a joke, I know you don’t abandon your post, but we do need some sort of plan. This will be much more fun than I had originally anticipated. I was dreading being surrounded by humans for so long. Do you know how dreadfully dull most petty thieves are? So, feel free to thwart my band of misfits,” Crowley cringed inwardly, what kind of idiotic phrase was that, ‘band of misfits’ that sounded like something the angel would say. Maybe having Aziraphale around was starting to wear down his style. He was already losing the excitement of having the angel as his primary company for the next few years. “I will just be there and take credit for the gambling that will happen with or without my presence. Hell does not really have any sense of how human’s work. They are all greedy and think themselves the chosen ones, they’ll gamble and steal and do all sorts of things not yet imagined, all without my help. Starting to feel like my job has become redundant.”

Crowley did not often talk for this long, that was more Aziraphale’s thing. But the demon’s ramble gave the angel time to calm down and begin planning. “Well, I suppose I will just have to accompany you on your whole journey.” Aziraphale said with some amount of confidence.

By this point they had finished off one bottle of wine and were half-way through a second. Their tongues were starting to loosen and Aziraphale was about to say something he would regret. It was past time for that anyway.

“Maybe I could accompany you as your wife.” He said definitively. Crowley’s eyes went wide and he had a completely unreadable expression on his face.

“What?” croaked the demon, in a barely audible voice.

“Well, seeing as you plan to lead a group of ‘outlaws’ I figured I would have an easy time earning their trust and influencing them if I am close to you. And who would suspect an innocent wife, brought all the way over from the British Isles to faithfully follow her one true love.” Aziraphale trailed off. At this point, Crowley was pretty sure Aziraphale was out of his mind. He surely did not know what he was saying, let alone what he was implying. What happened to the scared and anxious angel he knew? Where was that angel right now? Crowley just continued to stare. Tried to say something a few times, never succeeding.

They sat there for a couple minutes, Aziraphale off in his own world, and Crowley utterly at a loss for words.

“ _What_?” intoned the demon, after the silence stretched on longer than he was comfortable with. The angel was so lost that he startled at the noise. Then blushed, then, looking at Crowley’s expression, blushed harder.

“Oh dear, my dear boy, I don’t know where that came from. It was just an idea, I am terribly sorry, I seemed to have frightened you. Perhaps we should sober up. We are not terribly far in but it has been a rather stressful day. Maybe I just need to rest, not sleep mind you. But I will just go find a book and read for a while. It was nerves just nerves, that’s all. No need to look so frightened my dear.” The last of this was said while Aziraphale was bustling off around the corner, as bright red as… The only thing Crowley could think to compare it to was an apple, one apple in particular. That very first apple. Once you knew something, once you had an idea, you could never unknow it. “Can’t kill an idea” Crowley thought. Then he thought, really thought, about the angel’s idea. No that could never work. That would be ridiculous, Someone would notice. Surely.

“Angel, that is brilliant!” Crowley hollered after Aziraphale, jumping up from his chair.

“What! No, it isn’t. Please dear it was an awful idea. Put it out of your mind this instant.”

Crowley had not been sure why he agreed to the idea just then, already regretting it he tried to keep the same level of enthusiasm. If Aziraphale had said it, he must actually be interested in that. There was some small amount of hope that this could work.

“Zira, it is perfect. How else, in your own words, could you gain the confidence of the people near me?” Crowley picked up the bottle on the table and drank what remained in it. He was still a bit too sober for this. And he doubted that Aziraphale actually wanted to be sober either. He miracled the bottle half full again and passed it to the angel.

Aziraphale, taking the bottle, poured it all out into his glass. With a minor miracle to make it all fit. Then swiftly drank the entire glass. He may have drunk just as much as the demon, but he had standards. That apparently included, or maybe excluded, one specific demon. But standards none-the-less.

“Well, if you really think it would work. Are you sure that you are quite comfortable with that, I can do something else out there if you don’t want me interfering?”

Crowley was not sure where his courage was coming from but powered forwards anyway. If Aziraphale was actually having this conversation then he was not going to be the one to end it. “Yeah Angel, could be fun.” he stated with what he hoped looked like a casual shrug. This may take a little tempting but Zira didn’t need to know that that was what he was up to.

“You would never have to worry about keeping track of me, I would always be right there for you to thwart. You would have so much extra free time, could probably just read all day. Could get a house with a big kitchen, and hire a cook, just for you. Surely there are lots of young folks out there looking for a job like that.” He knew he had Aziraphale now, his? the? angel was trying to hide a small smile.

“Well we would have to pay them handsomely; it is hard to earn a respectable living on your own out there after all. Could not possibly refuse to help someone seeking a job in such a noble profession.” Of course, anyone else would have questioned the nobility of being a personal cook but Crowley was not going to ruin Aziraphale’s reasoning in this matter. “But what ever will I call myself? I have been going by Mr. Fell or Zira for a while now and those won’t work for this assignment.”

Crowley was a bit hesitant and tried to choose his next words wisely. He knew what he should say, or at least what he shouldn’t say but that didn’t count for much, “Wouldn’t you just be Mrs. Crowley?”

As soon as it was out, he regretted it. A bit too presumptuous that was. Should at least give a few other options, this wasn’t an actual marriage after all. And they were immortal entities, surely they could just bend the rules in the eyes of the humans, that was a demon’s specialty. But Crowley’s mind drew a blank. And it seemed that the angel’s had too.

In a sudden burst of drunken energy, Aziraphale exclaimed, “That will do quite nicely my dear! But won’t I be on a first name basis with some of the humans? Maybe I could be Ezra Crowley! OH I do LOVE the sound of that!” It was hard to tell how much of the angel’s blush was alcohol induced, and how much was caused by their conversation. Even Aziraphale wasn’t sure, but he felt like his face was on fire.

After taking a moment to collect his thoughts Crowley remembered that he was set to leave tomorrow. By boat of all things. Crowley hated boats. Some snakes liked water, but not many were keen on salt water and Crowley would have preferred to swear off water for the rest of his eternity. But his instructions were to go by boat. He was meant to catch the one leaving at mid-day and it was already approaching the witching hour. Silly name that was too, as if witches only worked for one hour at night. The witches he encountered did most of their work during the day like anyone else.

Witches aside, “Well then _Mrs. Crowley_ , I suppose you ought to get ready to leave. I’m taking a boat in a few hours that goes to New York, never checked to see if that is where they think they are going. But that is where we’ll end up. I’m going to sober up and go collect my things.” Which was no more than a few extra pairs of sunglasses and a case to look like he had packed. “I’ll be back in seven hours. Be READY then, or I am leaving without you.”

Crowley turned to go, he needed time to think. “Wait, this has hardly solved anything. What’s our story? What kind of wife am I? What kind of husband are you? What is our relationship built on? What was our wedding like? Why are we moving to the American West?” But time was never on Crowley’s side.

“I don’t know Angel. I need to collect my belongings and I suspect that you do too. We will figure it out later. Just be ready when I come back, I do not have the time to wait on you, and I am not delaying this ship.” Though delaying others seemed like the kind of activity he could do to take his mind off things for a while. “So for Someone’s sake just go get ready.”

He turned, and as he neared the entrance to the shop remembered, “Oh and do be a woman shaped being when I come back, or this is going to fail before it begins.” With that he left. Not wanting to hear nor see Aziraphale’s response to that.


	3. Crowley's Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley gets lost in thought considering their new arrangement. Aziraphale's pronouns in this chapter are they/them. Honestly a lot of this is a rant about the patriarchy and the concept of gender.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I didn't post this yesterday! I meant to but it was midnight before I even realized it, and well here we are now, many hours later...  
> And this is a shorter chapter, hopefully y'all enjoy it.

Crowley’s Flat – Midnight

Crowley spent more time thinking about Aziraphale’s questions than he cared to admit. What kind of couple would they be? Were they already wealthy and seeking to increase it? Or were they out looking for new wealth?

Of course, it was easiest to go through the world if you have money, or at least look like you have money. So, wealthy then. That matched with the need for a personal cook, and it would lend Crowley the immediate power he needed for the assignment. He designed what he considered a suitably high-end travel suit, complete with a top hat. Briefly wondering if Aziraphale would approve. The rest of his style did not take much modification, just tweaking it here and there to look the part. Bushy sideburns were ‘the look’ right now, but Crowley would be _damned_ if he were caught with those. Rather he would be _blessed_. But either way he knew the style just couldn’t last. These past few decades had been particularly trying for the demon. The sense of fashion was horrendous, he frequented the lower classes because at least they had a bit of pride. Though the fashion of the era did seem to suit Aziraphale perfectly, made them seem more inviting somehow.

Lost in his thoughts, Crowley suddenly remembered the human tradition, that he knew had some hellish influence, of giving a spouse a ring. It was of course a way to mark one as taken, cultures all around the world did this to women in various fashions. It was a mark of power over women and possessive behavior that Crowley had never really understood about humans. He felt it should be dehumanizing and therefore was okay with it for Hell’s sake. But criticized it on his own time. He knew that there was nothing hugely different between men and women. Crowley himself had been a woman several times throughout history and took offence when people thought less of him for it. The need for power and influence was the reason he most frequently took a masculine form. But whenever there was a chance to be something other than obviously male, Crowley took it. What would be the fun in being an immortal on Earth if you couldn’t at least stretch their concepts of gender. Angels and demons had no real need for gender but they aligned themselves to whatever fashion the humans were using to fit it.

Crowley took some time to think about the perfect ring for Aziraphale, then manifested it into the case. There really wasn’t anything else in the case except for a few tokens Aziraphale had given him through time. Mostly books he would never read, but thought the angel may want to see again. He could miracle any clothes or items he needed but knew Aziraphale did not like it when their books were moved through space with a miracle. They insisted it wasn’t really proper care of the books and they often told Crowley that he ought to be more careful with them.

Being ready Crowley set out again to wander London in the hours before dawn. Taking it in not knowing how much would change before he and the angel could return. He was walking by one of the angel’s favorite bakeries in the demon’s part of town. The baker, an older gentleman that had lived there for twenty-odd years now was just opening the shop. Crowley stopped in and picked up a few of Aziraphale’s favorite pastries, and some bread he could surprise them with on the boat. Returning back to the street he walked out to the nearest park and sat for an hour.

Getting lost in thought was dangerous. Hours would slip away completely unnoticed. Crowley was keeping the pastries fresh and warm while he waited and thought about the coming days, weeks, months, years! And only realized how much time had passed when the pastries started showing signs of resistance to staying fresh. Springing from the seat, he summoned a cab.

The driver was less than pleased that his horse had suddenly left a customer to head towards a tall lanky gentleman with bread. The horse paid Crowley no mind but the driver glared. Crowley simply stepped up into the cab. To the driver’s complete astonishment, his horse than began to trot swiftly to SoHo. By the time he could get his horse to stop he had gone through most of London and was beginning to grow concerned about his horse. There was no way he could afford another one. Was this one sick? He had been assured that it was trained well. Never caused any trouble before. Then remembering the strange man, he went back to check the cab, and found it deserted. It was only seven in the morning and he was already at his wit’s end.


	4. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley is already regretting their plan. The angel is a little over-packed. Aziraphale's pronouns are now she/her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating today to get back on track with the whole every other day thing. Still a fairly short chapter, but it's kinda cute.

Aziraphale’s Bookshop – 7 a.m.

Crowley smirked as he crossed the street to head to the bookshop. He could never resist pushing people into sour moods. And cab drivers were the best because all that malcontentment would quickly spread to other passengers. After crossing the street, Crowley turned to hail another cab, properly this time. Setting his case inside and instructing the driver to wait just a minute, the demon walked to the bookshop door with the pastries in hand.

The door opened as he was going to enter, in front of him stood the slightly surprised angel. Crowley could think of no other words to describe her than beautiful and simply _angelic_. Aziraphale had decided to forgo the corset, thinking them to be rather demonic contraptions. On this Crowley would agree, he knew it was a demon that had inspired them, just wasn’t sure which one was clever enough to do that. But the dress that the angel had put on was simply perfect.

Crowley knew that the angel had never really understood the changing hairstyles throughout time. It was most often the case that the angel kept her hair as short as the period would allow. Crowley though loved to experiment with hair. Currently his was kept in an orderly, straight, shoulder length style. But this time his angel’s hair was long, longer than it may have ever been. It was hard to tell though, as it was up in a ridiculously towering mountain on top of her head. The demon wanted to make some kind of remark on this but was at a loss for words. He knew that Aziraphale likely used a miracle to get it up but was still impressed that she knew the style.

Crowley quickly held out the pastries and Aziraphale blushed.

“Oh Heavens! Are these for me? This is so kind of you, I really must thank…”  
“Yeah, alright. Don’t overdo it, you’ll ruin my reputation if anyone hears.” Crowley mumbled. Aziraphale took the pastries from Crowley, picking up a pain au chocolat and biting into it. “I figured you would want a few of these before we left London for, ‘the foreseeable future’.”

“Oh yes, these are perfect. They taste as if they were made only moments ago.” The angel said while taking another bite of the sweet and making a truly absurd sound.

“Angel, if you don’t stop being polite, I _will_ take them away. You are supposed to be thwarting me, not telling me I’m kind. I am NOT kind. So there’s enough of that.” Aziraphale tutted and walked past the complaining demon.

“My bags are just inside the door there, I do believe that a proper gentleman would get them for a lady.”

“Yeah, well I am no proper gentleman.” Crowley whined as he turned to go collect his(Nope!) the angel’s bags. Aziraphale was going to be the absolute end of him. And they still hadn’t left SoHo. Aziraphale had no right calling him kind. Looking absolutely divine. Then, on top of it all, making those noises, the pastries had been a mistake. This whole plan was a mistake.

“Angel?”

“Yes? Is everything quite alright my dear?”

“Well, yeah, it’s just, um… How many of these bags are you wanting to take?” Crowley stared at the absolute mountain of bags. He had known they would be playing the part of the wealthy English couple, but how were they supposed to get all of these bags out to the settlement without a major miracle. A miracle that he knew Aziraphale would be reluctant to provide, and Crowley could never perform without raising serious suspicion.

“All of them, that is why they are there.” Aziraphale returned to the demon’s side in the shop’s doorway.

“Okay, but no. You can just miracle the things you need. This is practically your whole shop. I am not taking responsibility for this, and I doubt you want to either. So take only what will fit in the cab.”

Taking a look back at the cab, with the driver who was growing increasingly impatient, Aziraphale sighed. She half considered miracling the cab larger but knew Crowley would object. So instead she turned back to the bags and cases filled with books, rearranging them with a quick thought, and then pointing to a stack of six cases to the left.

“Six cases! Angel, _we_ need to fit in the cab as well!” Aziraphale’s pout was enough though to weaken Crowley’s reserve and he sighed. Then the demon walked over to the cases, picked up a few and returned to the cab. With a small temporary miracle, he was able to lift the unnaturally heavy cases, and increase the inside of the cab just enough for all cases, entities, and oversized dress to fit perfectly. If this was part of The Ineffable Plan, Crowley knew it must have been part designed to torture him specifically for Falling. As if being damned wasn’t enough. Well, he would manage. Crowley turned and his glare was gone, it turned to a small smile as he saw the angel finishing her second pastry. He knew, once again, that he would do anything to keep that delighted look on the angel’s face. Anything to keep _his_ angel happy. He just couldn’t let Aziraphale know. Or he would never hear the end of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, it takes me so long to get them out of London, but I promise, they are almost there. Then they will be onto America.


	5. Marital Bliss?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two come face to face with what it will mean to be married in their day-to-day lives. There is another mini-rant on sexism and prejudice because at heart Crowley really cares about people. But don't tell him that, you won't want to hear his response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one footnote in this chapter, I just couldn't leave it out but it didn't make any sense incorporated into the text.

Bank of the River Thames – Same Day – 11 a.m.

Having reached the port along the Thames, they boarded a small boat that would take them out to a larger one in the channel. This would be a two-week journey across the Atlantic to get to New York. Fortunately, for the main ship’s captain, the intended destination of the ship was New York City. Crowley had assumed, as had the other demons of Hell, that any ship would eventually go to New York City. Therefore, any ship with a demon would set a course to go there, whether the crew had planned this or not. While the crews often felt the need to dissuade this, the ships all** had a sense of self-preservation that told them doing a demon’s bidding was the best way to safely see tomorrow.

The short journey down the river passed uneventfully. Aziraphale rambled on about how much she would miss the city and tried to bless it as much as one angel could in a short time period. They were sitting apart from any other passengers and Crowley saw to it that no one would try to talk to them along the way. As they were nearing the larger port, the demon remembered the ring he had made for the angel.

Being completely sober made this whole ordeal much more difficult than it had been the night before. “In for a penny, in for a pound.” Crowley mumbled to himself and took the ring out while turning to the angel.

“What was that dear? I am afraid I did not quite hear you.”

“Oh nothing. I just um… well I figured since… since we are to be, wedded, as it were.” Crowley paused and took an unnecessary breath to buy a second of time, “Well anyway, we are supposed to be married. And humans, being possessive creatures, always try to show the other humans when someone is taken with a sort of symbol. So I… well I made you a ring.” Crowley stopped and looked up at Aziraphale.

Aziraphale’s expression went quickly from perplexed to delighted and Crowley let out another needless breath. “That is a brilliant idea! I suppose that people will expect something like that. And oh… Oh dear. Should I have got one for you too? It did not even cross my mind.” Aziraphale was starting to worry now. What was the tradition now? Traditions changed so quickly; she never really could keep up. She always felt a few decades, if not centuries behind. Crowley though, he was always with the times. Aziraphale was slightly envious of him for that, though envy was a feeling she could never admit to, it was not a good look for her job.

“Only if you want to Angel. It really depends, I could just make another identical one if you’d like. Here’s yours.” Crowley handed her the ring, and it was perfect. Of course it was, Crowley had made it after all. It was mostly a light-colored metal in the shape of a feather that would wrap around her finger. But then along the shaft of the feather were dark gemstones. They absorbed nearly all of the light that hit it and Aziraphale wondered where this rock would actually be found in the universe. She suspected it likely came from some of the dust in Alpha Centauri. The stones were lined along the feather to look like scales, and the ring fit her finger perfectly. If it hadn’t, she was sure Crowley would have just glared at it until it did.

“Well I think you should at least have something to wear. But you should not make your own, dear. I will make it for you.” As she said this, she manifested a nearly identical ring, but instead of the strange rocks that she couldn’t place, she just used a dark earthly rock. Throughout the light feathers she wove in streaks of gold. Though seeing as gold was a very delicate metal, she placed a miracle over it to protect it from any damage. When she handed it to the demon, she could see his blush and longed to see his eyes. Crowley’s eyes were surprisingly expressive, and he could hide so much behind his glasses.

“Thanks Angel.” Crowley mumbled as he took the ring and put it on. He really did not know what else to say at this point and was immensely grateful that they were coming into the larger port just then. He stood and began to collect their cases, avoiding the angel’s calculating gaze. He knew the angel had seen his blush, and it had surprised him. It was just a ring after all. Didn’t mean anything really, just playing a part. But it felt special somehow, since Aziraphale made it.

Crowley and Aziraphale had precariously gathered their bags and began walking towards the larger ship.

“Names.” Demanded the clerk at the ramp to board the ship.

Crowley hesitated, they had agreed on the names, but what if the angel had changed her mind? What if she didn’t want to be Mrs. Crowley and would hate him for saying it. In all his worry Crowley forgot to actually say something. As the moment stretched on the clerk’s annoyance grew until finally Aziraphale stepped in.

“That would be Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J. Crowley.” Crowley remained motionless as Aziraphale gave the names. The clerk wrote the names out with a glare. He would have considered himself a traditionalist and could not imagine why this woman was speaking to him while the man, apparently Anthony J. Crowley, stood mute. They looked wealthy, how had this young gentleman ended up with such a loud woman, and what an odd couple they were. Their appearances were so in contrast to each other that they seemed as separate as Heaven and Hell themselves. What a strange world this was becoming, and the clerk for one, was not excited to see what else would come of it.

Remembering himself, Crowley muttered, “Uh. Yeah, that’s right.”

“Papers.” The clerk responded with a bit more malice than before.

“Oh dear! I had not even thought to collect those. What are we going to do dear?” Asked the angel turning to the demon.

“Relax Angel, I have them in my case.” This was, of course, a stretch. Crowley would have them in his case when he reached for them. But had anyone checked just then, they would have found no more than a warm loaf of bread and a few carefully packaged books and sunglasses. But as it was, no one had checked, and Crowley reached in unimpeded. He came back, holding their boarding papers, and proof of identification. The details of them were still coming together, but that would be overlooked on this occasion. One of the papers that Crowley had deemed important enough for this occasion was their marriage certificate. He shuddered to think that this may mean they were “legally” married.

“You may board.” The clerk declared, it a bit of daze. He had a difficult time focusing on the papers but they looked official enough. He waved them onto the boat and suddenly felt sick. Running off from his post he made it to an opening between the boat and port before being sick. He was going to have to miss out on this trip, which meant he wouldn’t get paid. Which in turn meant he couldn’t afford room and board anywhere in town. He’d have to go live with his ageing mother till he could get on another ship.

“Crowley, what did you do to that poor young man.”

“Nothing permanent.”

“But there was no need to curse him, small or otherwise.”

“Come on Angel, you saw the way he glared at you! And surely you could feel his disgust. Just because you are a woman now doesn’t mean that you should let the humans treat you as any less. Maybe it will teach him a lesson.”

Aziraphale did not like how many times she had blushed in the past day alone. But she found she couldn’t help it and felt delighted at the compassion Crowley was showing. She knew that he hated prejudice, if you were going to hate someone that was all fine and good. But to Crowley, hatred of those different from you was not something he wanted to be associated with. If he followed that fear of all things different then he would have never befriended Aziraphale. Prejudice told him that angels were beings to despise, but in fighting what he had been taught, he had found his angel. So maybe fighting prejudice could do them all a little bit of, well… he supposed… a little bit of _good_.

As they boarded the ship and reached their room, they found that it was a small tight space. With only enough room for one narrow bed and a chair. Setting all of the cases in the tight space required a small miracle, and a look from the demon that might have indicated something along the lines of “I told you so”.

Reaching into his singular case, Crowley found the still fresh bread from the bakery this morning. “Angel, I got you this for the trip. I know it isn’t much but I doubt this ship is going to have anything that should rightfully be called food, so I thought you may want something else.”

“Oh that is wonderful dear. And yes, maybe I could go to the kitchens and provide some assistance.”

Crowley just shrugged at that. “Were you planning on sleeping on this trip? Because we can work out a schedule since they have only given us this one tiny blessed bed.” Crowley glared at it, hoping it would at least get a little larger. But that would unfortunately take too much occult energy that he really couldn’t spare at the moment.

“Well I hadn’t really planned to sleep. You can have it. I have heard that these voyages can be quite dangerous for humans. You know that once one person on these things get sick, it spreads like wildfire. So I figured I would try to ward off any illnesses as best I can.”

“Alright, well you have fun. Don’t bring too much _goodness_ , I expect to wake up and feel the misery.”

“Of course my dear.” Aziraphale sat in the little chair to eat some of the bread, while Crowley sprawled out as much as the tiny space would allow. Just as the ship was leaving Crowley fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Singular footnote :)  
> \-----------------  
> ** Well almost all. On one disastrous occasion in 1912, the demon Mammon had boarded a ship heading to New York City. But Mammon had other plans that she needed to attend to in Houston, Texas. She boarded knowing that no ship was foolish enough to disobey a demon. But this one was high-spirited and had its course firmly set on NYC. It was the ships maiden voyage after all. And it had the world's attention on it as it was something of a marvel to the humans. When Mammon realized they were not heading south, she jumped ship and with a little demonic intervention, nudged an iceberg off its course. And well you know the rest, poor Rose and Jack didn't even know what was coming.


	6. Arriving in America

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aziraphale and Crowley arrive in America and their journey west begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Split into two sections, a fair bit of the first section isn't super important to the story just them traveling.

New York City – Early April 1850 – 11 a.m.

Crowley awoke to the site of the angel, only a few inches from his face. She had changed from the wealthy Victorian look to a simpler style. Her hair was down now and the dress was looser and more liberating. She had clearly been trying, for quite some time, to wake the demon. He grumbled and tried to turn away as he began to hear what she was saying.

“We are coming into the port now; you should come see the city the humans have built here. It is magnificent, and so much bigger than I expected, it has really only been a few centuries since they first started building here. They are moving so quickly.” Aziraphale was absolutely gushing with, what felt to Crowley, like pride for the humans. He had never known an angel to be proud before Aziraphale. But supposed that it only made sense, Aziraphale did not really fit the mold of the mindless, obedient, polite prick that most angels were.

Crowley tried to object to getting up by moving further from the angel. He had just had a magnificent time of sleeping and felt that after only two weeks his nap was being cut short. As he moved away from the angel, he forgot how narrow the bed was and slipped right off the other side, into the narrow gap between it and the wall.

At this, he could hear the angel giggle. She seemed to be absolutely overcome with mirth at the demon’s mishap and made no move to help.

“It’sss not funny, you could _help_ me.” Crowley hissed.

“Well, you did want to wake up and feel the misery of your fellow passengers. So I think I am helping you dear. Are you hurt?”

“No, it doesssn’t hurt. But I am sstuck!” Crowley intoned, feeling quite embarrassed. He decided it was best if the angel did not come around and see him smushed between the bed and wall. Turning briefly to a snake he managed to slither out of the small crevice and stand back up in the room.

“Stop laughing, it wasn’t funny.”

“Oh I am sorry my dear, but I think that was quite amusing.”

“Let’s just go alright.” Crowley shoved on a pair of glasses and picked up a few cases. He then miracled the door open and walked out. Thankful for the sunglasses, he still had to stand and squint for a while before being able to see in the sunlight. His pale skin and dark clothes stood out among the crowd of excited passengers and allowed the angel to quickly catch back up.

They made their way off the boat. Getting out into the city was relatively easy as America was still forming their immigration policies. Heaven and Hell knew that in the next couple of decades there would be a drastic increase in immigration policies, so they had sent their ‘agents’ at the start of the migration. They also had knowledge that a great war was set to begin soon in the states and were working to avoid being caught in it. Hell liked to take credit for the wars but more often than not they were the work of the humans alone. By the end of this one, Heaven would try to claim it as one of the modern triumphs over evil, but anyone really paying attention would remark that the evils ‘defeated’ in the war were not gone, just transformed into a new breed of hatred. But Heaven never really cared for human affairs so they would take the symbolic victory then leave the humans to clean up their own mess for the next few centuries.

As Aziraphale and Crowley worked their way out into the city they marveled at the vast spread of people. This city saw all walks of life, and now that included two immortal beings.

“I have always meant to come here. This being such an important city to the humans now. I think this will be the stage for many of Her plans for change among the humans. I do wish we could stay to help them.”

“Yeah, with so many of them here, there is bound to be loads of evil, would love to stay and mess it about. But we should be going I think Angel.”

They moved through the city and stopped for lunch in a small family-run restaurant. The restaurant was doing quite well because of the influx of immigrants in the last few years. It served German food and, with the recent wave of German migrants, attracted large crowds with every incoming European ship. The two entities mingled in the crowd, and Crowley managed to get his way to the front via not so gentle persuasion and perhaps a miracle or two. After eating they set course to the new railroad station.

The railroad was a fairly new invention that Crowley found he was absolutely fascinated by. It was so much better than any of the horse-drawn carriages. He was excited to finally get to check it out. The angel, on the other hand, was less than thrilled. She was skeptical about these contraptions and just could not bring herself to believe that they were safe. She hoped that they were just a passing fancy and would soon be forgotten. There was nothing wrong with traveling by horse, it may have been slower but at least she could trust the horse to not explode or catch fire.

Like the port, the railway station was teeming with life. Many of the people had come here directly from the port to catch a glimpse of the trains for the first time. The excitement was palpable and could even be felt coming from the demon. Aziraphale did her best to look relaxed but she knew it was a poor attempt. They only had a short ride south before they reached the end of the rails and they would be able to move west via carriage then. She reminded herself of this, and that this would be good for Crowley, raise his spirits before they left the known world behind. Focusing on Crowley’s joy and excitement calmed the angel. She wished she could capture the moment somehow; he was like a human child experiencing the world with brand new eyes. In the immortal life of a demon, things that were genuinely exciting and interesting that did not have to deal with the suffering of humans were few and far between. Aziraphale wished to just freeze time until Crowley had got his fill of marveling at the engines of the trains. Maybe, just for Crowley’s sake, Aziraphale would learn to manage if the trains persisted.

They boarded the train that would take them as far south as the capital. From there they would stay through to the next day to collect what they would need for their journey. There were well-traveled paths that would take them as far as Kansas City. From there, their journey would slow and they would take the new Oregon Trail as far as they could until Crowley would turn them southward to reach the settlement he had been directed to. Aziraphale felt some amount of excitement to explore this part of the earth that she had not been to yet. But there were stories of hardship the entire way. She planned on getting out as many blessings as she could to everyone they encountered. But knew that Heaven would want her to limit the miracles on the trail, if only because that was not her assignment.

Crowley was not looking forward to the ride by wagon. He would not be able to sleep through it as he had in the boat. And horses tended to distrust him. They were wary of snakes and he often had to expend large amounts of energy to bury that part of him so that horse would not startle. He knew that locomotion would be the way forward and was immensely grateful for that. As far as he was concerned, the less he had to deal with horses, the better.

***

The train they boarded was packed full but they managed to get a cabin of their own and get out of the chaos. As fond as they both were of the humans, they were not thrilled to be amongst so many of them at once. It was overwhelming both of their senses, and they did their best to block out as much of the surrounding emotions as possible. Aziraphale had a harder time doing this than Crowley, and shortly after settling into their cabin she got back up and went to the door.

“Do you feel that Crowley?”

“Ngk. I am trying not to feel any of it.”

“Someone is in distress just down the car.”

“Humans are always distressed Angel, best just leave them be.”

“But they are so worried, I am going to go see if I can help.”

“Ngk.” Crowley repeated as he turned away. He just wanted to enjoy this train ride. Why couldn’t the angel just take an hour or two off. She really needed to rest but Crowley knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon so he relented and waved her out.

Aziraphale walked a short way down the car till she reached a woman coming quickly out of a cabin.

“What is wrong dear, can I help you with anything?” Aziraphale asked while trying to send her comfort.

“I can’t find my daughter. She was right behind me as we were boarding but when I got into the cabin she wasn’t there!” The young woman was close to hysterics and Aziraphale reached out a hand in an attempt to calm her.

“Do not fear, I am sure she is nearby, I will help you look.”

Aziraphale was never great with kids. They had too much energy for her taste and tried to avoid any assignments where they were involved. They were lovely and she of course loved them, as they were created by Her. But she just never knew how anyone could keep track of them. Crowley was great with kids. In remembering this she turned back to the woman.

“Why don’t you come sit in my cabin down here and my husband and I will go look for her.” Her aura of comfort had done wonders to calm the mother’s nerves but she was still in a great amount of distress. She followed the angel back to the cabin, and as Crowley saw the two approach, he sighed. So much for the work free ride. A few hours was all the more he had hoped for, but knew it was too much to expect.

As the door opened Crowley let out a long-suffering sigh and demanded, “What is it now Angel?”

Upon seeing the demon, the young mother became more worried. This did not look like the kind of man she could trust. And he did not sound like the kind of man who would readily help anyone but himself, or one who would listen to his own wife. But the woman beside her turned her steady calming gaze to the man and began speaking to him in a language she didn’t recognize.

In Enochian Aziraphale addressed Crowley, “My dear, this poor young woman has lost her daughter somewhere on the train.”

“Okay.” The demon responded, then after another second, he replied, “If she is on the train, she will surely be able to find her by the time the get off.”

“But what if she gets off at the wrong stop. We must help her; she is awfully distressed and her daughter could be in trouble. Crowley dear, I know you care for kids, you must be willing to help, if only for the kid’s sake. She could be so lost and scared right now without her mother.” Aziraphale gave Crowley a pleading look.

Sighing again, Crowley turned to the mother and, in English again, grumbled, “What’s she look like? Your daughter that is, I’ll go find her.”

The mother, not knowing what had been said between the two was slightly stunned to hear that the man was willing to help. She pulled at her memory for what her daughter had been wearing that day and began to describe, “She is six years old, only comes up to my hip. She has long dark hair pulled back with a bright purple bow. Today she has a purple dress on that matches the bow. And her eyes are a hazel color. Is that enough to go on?”

“Hm? Oh yeah, that’ll do.” Crowley mumbled. He did not really need a description, he just needed the mother to be remembering her daughter, Crowley was able to pull that memory to locate the young girl. As long as she wasn’t far, he should be able to find her in a matter of minutes. Once that picture could materialize itself to Crowley, he should be able to pinpoint her location and get to her swiftly.

The woman was not encouraged by his response. This man was not someone that seemed like he cared about finding her daughter, and she doubted that he would actually do more than walk down the corridor before saying she was nowhere to be found.

Crowley stood up and walked out of the cabin, passing Aziraphale with a small glare and then walking off towards the end of the car. Taking that as a sign that he would find the girl Aziraphale turned to the woman with a smile that she felt should be reassuring.

“Please sit-down miss. He will be back shortly with your daughter, I am sure. Should I get us some tea? Or maybe something to eat?”

“No, it’s alright, I should really keep looking for her.” She turned to walk the other direction but Aziraphale blocked her way.

“Don’t worry my dear, my husband will bring her back, I am certain. We wouldn’t want to have to send him back out to look for you then. It will be best to stay put.” Aziraphale was so confident in this that her confidence spread, if only a little, to the distraught woman. She could not fathom why she was trusting these two odd strangers but she sat in their cabin to wait.

For the next few minutes, the two sat while Aziraphale rambled on about her favorite foods in London to keep the woman distracted. When the door opened, they looked over to see Crowley, covered in dirt and grime, and a young girl in purple, absolutely spotless. The young woman immediately jumped up and rushed to her daughter.

“Oh thank the Lord you are alright! You two are such a blessing, you must have been sent by God himself.”

Simultaneously, Crowley snickered, “Guess again.” And Aziraphale corrected, “Herself.”

If the woman had been paying attention to their responses, she would have been perplexed by both. But as it was, she was focused on her daughter, now talking softly to her. After a few more minutes she thanked them both several times more then went back to her cabin.

When she was gone Aziraphale beamed at Crowley.

“Don’t say anything, Angel.”

“But…”

“Nope, as far as I’m concerned, nothing happened.”

“Okay fine, but where was she?”

“On the roof…”

Aziraphale just laughed at this for a brief moment. She then waved her hand to clean off the demon’s clothes. He must have done the same for the girl but had forgotten his own.

“Well, it is good you were there to get her then. Awfully dangerous that is, no place for a human, these contraptions must be the work of your side.”

“Are you kidding me, I figured they were the work of your side. Can’t you see how much _good_ these trains are going to do people? They will save so many lives.”

“But they are absolute monsters of a machine, and all that coal can’t be good for nature!”

“Well they must just be another masterpiece of the humans’ then.” Marveled Crowley, “I think you ought to rest now Angel, we won’t get much of a chance to again for a couple weeks.”

Aziraphale felt rather strongly that she had no need for rest but figured she had pushed the demon enough today. Relenting she sat down and pulled a book out of a case to read until they got to the capital. The demon lounged back on the opposite seat and watched the world go by the small window in the cabin. Together like this life felt just perfect.


	7. Heading West

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D.C. to K.C.  
> Okay, it is really Leavenworth not K.C. but close enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My posting is beginning to catch up with my writing so after a couple more chapters I may be slowing down. But no need to worry yet. Still have a few chapters before that!

Washington D.C. – Same Day – 7 p.m.

They had disembarked from their train some time ago and found a boarding place for the evening. Having dropped their cases off, they were strolling through the capital. Politics of the humans, and of the supernatural entities for that matter, were something that both Crowley and Aziraphale tried to avoid when possible. There was just no winning there and it all got so messy. There were times in their long histories where they felt the need to get involved, but that was usually to try and set the course straight. Some people would always find a way to work hatred into politics and both of them knew that this should not be allowed. They did their best to work it back out, but it always returned in different forms. That was the problem with free will, you couldn’t control it. Even with their best combined efforts, they were fighting a losing battle against humanity as a whole.

Here, in this city, they were surrounded by it. They walked, knowing the importance of it all for the next few centuries, but avoiding it. It would go on as intended by the will of the people, with or without their interference.

They needed to buy a horse and wagon that would take them across the states. They found a place to purchase both of these and several other items they would need. Aziraphale insisted on stopping into as many shops as they could before they would need to leave again. Crowley reminded her that they could just miracle whatever they needed, but she maintained that it just wasn’t the same.

They finally returned after supper to their lodgings, weighed down with all of Aziraphale’s purchases in the few hours since leaving the train. Most of these were books, she was excited to explore the contemporary American literature. Crowley had insisted it was all rubbish, but he never read anyway so what did he know, really?

This time, the demon demanded that the angel sleep. Promising it would be good for her, and that if she would just quit thinking then sleeping wouldn’t feel like such an awful waste of time. Having been knowingly tempted into it she relented and told Crowley that she would try to sleep for a few hours. But that he mustn’t let her sleep the whole night. Crowley agreed, being careful not to say he promised, because, well, he didn’t. Explaining (or mumbling) that he would be back in a jiffy, he slipped back out onto the street.

The only meddling in politics that Crowley enjoyed was the tempting of politicians. They were shamefully easy to tempt into corruption. It only took the proper placement of a thought or two and they would be taking bribes from anyone that so much as looked at them. What better place to score a few down below, than in the swampy city the Americans called a capital? He wandered the streets and sent out temptations that would enter the minds of the sleeping politicians all around the city. For those politicians that considered themselves public servants to the people, doing an honorable service for their country, they would wake up the next day remembering the nightmares. The more, in Crowley’s mind, sensible ones who knew that corruption was just a part of the game, would wake up remembering those dreams of immense fortune and power.

Crowley smirked as he walked the streets. If the angel knew what he was up to she would be upset. But he was just doing his job. As much as he cared for humanity, he couldn’t help causing trouble. He was a demon after all, on a running assignment to, “go down there and make some trouble.”

Finally returning to the room at dawn, the demon opened the door to find the angel already awake. She was wearing a nightgown and her hair was unkempt but it still created a rather charming look on the angel.

“Did you sleep at all?”

“I did dear, honestly.” Aziraphale tried to look sincere, she had slept, if only for an hour. It just was not something she enjoyed. And she didn’t want to waste the night, not after purchasing so many new books.

“Hm…” replied the demon skeptically. “Well I suppose you better get ready; we should leave as early as possible.”

“Yes, alright. Do you mind dear?”

“Mind?”

“I would like to change.”

 _Ah,_ of course, the angel did always enjoy doing things the human way. Crowley would have just snapped and been in his day clothes, but the angel liked to do things without all the small miracles.

“Oh right, of course. I’ll just go get us breakfast, shall I?”

“That would be lovely! If you can find them, I would love a bagel, I here they are popular over here. We should have got some in New York.”

At this Crowley nodded stiffly and walked back out. Just outside the lodging house, there was a small shop that was about to open. He walked by it and waited for the owner to show up. After inquiring as to whether they sold bagels, he went in and picked up a few, he also grabbed a few other items and returned to the room. The angel was ready by now and looked excitedly at the bagels. She took the one offered to her by the demon and began to eat it happily. Crowley didn’t understand that joy from simply eating. But he supposed it was rather similar to the peace he felt after a good long nap.

They gathered their bags and had to miracle another one for the new books the angel had purchased, then went out to their recently purchased wagon and horse. It took a while to get the horse to do as Crowley wanted but after several tries and a small crowd of spectators later, he managed to get it where it should be without being kicked and then they were able to set off. They both sat at the small front bench and Aziraphale took control. Animals much preferred the angel to the demon, they all seemed to be attracted to Aziraphale and did what she asked the first time around.

Over the next week, they moved swiftly from town to town. When they finally reached the end of ‘the known world’ they decided to stay for a day or two before the longer and slower part of their journey. They sold their horse to a local cattle rancher promising to take good care of it. Aziraphale felt the need to bless the horse before parting ways. They then bought several oxen and spent the next couple of days packing their wagon with supplies that Aziraphale insisted couldn’t be miracled because that would feel like cheating.

“We ought to do this the human way Crowley.”

“We really don’t need to. The human way sounds awful.”

“But it isn’t fair to them if we just move across without any problems at all.”

“So, you are saying we ought to allow problems to happen and do nothing to stop them? For an intelligent being, you can be very dense sometimes Angel.”

“No dear, when we do run into trouble, I am simply suggesting that we go about fixing it the human way is all. If that proves to be too much then you can fix it however you like. But as immortal entities, I think we can handle whatever the trail throws at us.”

“Yeah, you say that now. Just wait till you are knee-deep in mud or chasing after a loose ox.” Grumbled Crowley. But he let the angel buy all the supplies she thought any respectable pioneer ought to have.

She insisted on several pounds of tea and coffee, to which Crowley readily agreed. Then they purchased some preserved meats and a few dozen eggs with containers to keep them safe in. Crowley insisted that they would need loads of alcohol, as they could never be certain that the water would be safe to drink (for ordinary humans that is, who would actually have concerns about diseases). They bought flour and lard and decided upon buying a cow last minute. Aziraphale found a shop that sold dried fruits. These would normally be considered a luxury but she considered them an absolute necessity.

As far as other supplies and tools went, they gathered what they knew to be a necessity for anyone on the trail. They had a small spade, some cooking supplies, rope, a rifle that was only for show (per Aziraphale’s request), and a journal for Aziraphale to write a history of their journey. Crowley was decidedly not going to help any more than necessary and did not bother mentioning to the angel that they would likely need a lot more in the way of supplies for proper care of the animals and wagon. Aziraphale would surely find that out before long as it was.

After a couple days in the last city they would see for quite some time they were set to officially start their respective assignments. As they were preparing to leave early in the morning, Crowley felt more nervous than he’d been since that first day in the bookshop in London. So far, their little arrangement had not been an issue because they were constantly surrounded by people they would never meet again. This knowledge made things easier because it meant no one was watching them closely enough to see that they were not a genuine couple. But over the next day or two, it would be just the two of them to keep one another company. Then they would inevitably encounter others and the angel would likely insist they travel together. This is what Crowley worried for, these people would see right through them and know they weren’t a real couple. And Crowley dreaded having to pretend they were. There were days where he let himself imagine this, but it wasn’t real so pretending would be painful. But it was too late now, and they were heading out, leaving what they knew behind, and crossing into new territory for them both.


	8. On the Trail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Aziraphale officially set out from Leavenworth on the Oregon Trail. This chapter is a lot of fluff and a bit of humor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the last couple chapters have not been super exciting. According to Grammarly this one is more engaging than the others were. I think it is more fun too, if my word counts for anything. Thanks for making it this far. Things will be picking up now :)  
> Also, I don't think I have ever used so many hyphenated words in my entire life.

Leavenworth, Kansas Territory – Mid-April 1850 – 6 a.m.

It was a good thing that they had started their preparations to leave before the sun was up. They had spent the last two hours attempting to tie the oxen into their spots and figure out how the cow was going to be on a lead that wouldn’t strangle it if it tried to stop to graze. Oxen did not mind Crowley as much as their horse had, but he still had a hard time convincing them he wasn’t about to turn into a snake and eat one of them whole.

They were both wearing drastically different attire than when they had set out from London. Crowley was wearing a plain pair of trousers. The pants were not up to his usual standards in fashion. The trend in clothes for the trail were loose-fitting, functional, straight-legged trousers. Crowley fit the style but added as much flair as he could to it. The pants he wore were straight-legged but were much tighter than might be considered functional. And the shirt looked tailor cut. It was just a simple pullover shirt, but it was form-fitting with a wide-open front. The pants were a dark color and the vest over the shirt was made to match. He also wore his typical snake-skin boots but added spurs even though there was no chance he’d be riding a horse. He wore a wide hat and kept the shoulder-length hair back in a loose ponytail.

Aziraphale had opted for a simpler style. Instead of the long hair from before, she had gone to a shorter cut. This way her hair curled into tight ringlets that she kept under a simple white bonnet. Her dress was light blue and she had a cream-colored and tartan patterned apron on over it. She wore sturdy shoes, especially since she knew that when they ran into trouble, Crowley would be reluctant to help. She was feeling confident as they set out and had her journal ready to record everything that they saw.

The first day went smoothly, all things considered. This portion of the trail was well travelled enough that they did not need to clear out much. The weather was good, being April, it was not yet too warm and the sun was not too intense.

Crowley was bored out of his mind after the first couple of hours and was already getting impatient. Aziraphale had anticipated this but hadn’t been entirely sure how to fix it. She pulled out a small toy that she had bought. She had purchased a few in one of the shops they had gone into. It was just a simple stick with a ball attached to it via a string. There was a little bucket on the end just barely big enough for the ball to rest in.

“Why would the humans do this to themselves? They’ve only got, what… like sixty years on this rock? And they choose to spend it doing something more torturous than anything Hell could ever come up with! This is agony, I would rather just take a bottle of Holy Water than suffer this. The boredom and misery are palpable, I can feel it clinging to me.” With this Crowley threw his hands into the air and fell backwards into the hard wagon seat.

“That is just the humidity dear, and no need to be so dramatic. Here, I got you this.” Aziraphale took the small toy and handed it to Crowley.

“What the Heavens am I meant to do with this?”

“It is something that the humans carry to keep themselves entertained. Here let me show you what to do with it.” Aziraphale took the stick and swung it so the ball went into the air, then moved it so it landed squarely in the bucket.

“How is that entertaining? Wahoo, you can get a ball into the bucket.”

“Just try it dear.”

“Fine.” Crowley took the toy from Aziraphale and swung the ball up into the air. He tried to land it in the hole but missed and it fell back down, hitting his knuckles. He glared at it and tried again. Again, it missed and bumped against his hand. After a few more unsuccessful attempts his brow was furrowed and his glare was so intense, that rather than submitting to Crowley’s attempts, the toy just caught fire in the demon’s hand. Aziraphale tried to wrestle it back from the demon, but he insisted that it deserved a worse fate than this. The angel just sighed and watched the toy turn to ash.

“That wasn’t very sporting of you dear.”

“Well it wasn’t playing fair.” Pouted Crowley. Aziraphale tucked the other toys deeper into a trunk in the wagon.

They moved along in silence for a while longer until Crowley had cooled off again and Aziraphale suggested they should stop for lunch. They stopped the wagon but did not remove the animals. Neither of them was ready to repeat the events of the morning. Then they got down and Aziraphale began to prepare a small meal while Crowley whined that there was really no need for this. After Aziraphale finished her midday meal, they packed the wagon back up and continued onward. By the end of the day, they had covered twenty miles which was about as much as they could hope for without any miraculous interventions. They stopped somewhere for the animals to drink, graze, and rest for the night.

Not needing to rest themselves, they set up a campfire and Crowley got out some of the alcohol. What they had was not nearly as good as anything they had back at the angel’s bookshop, but it would have to do. In the quiet intimacy of the night, they could almost pretend that they were back in London in the backroom of the shop with a small fire lit. They sat up all night telling stories and enjoying one another’s company. It felt like the home and the comfort they thought they had left behind. Crowley knew he would still complain, but as long as his angel was there, he found that maybe this journey would not be too bad after all.

Aziraphale was reveling in the excuse that this assignment provided to spend this extended time with the demon. She prattled on about everything that crossed her mind and tried not to focus too hard on the fond gaze coming from her company. They were arguing about whether or not Edgar Allen Poe would really be considered one of ‘the greats’ when it came to the literature of the time. They both knew that his work was something that had begun to capture the attention of the public but Crowley enjoyed arguing with Aziraphale. He had no real basis for his argument, not having read any of Poe’s work. But the angel insisted he really must read some of it. Maybe he would even enjoy it. Everything about this felt familiar, they had been doing it for thousands of years. And by themselves, there was no pressure to play a part. They could simply be as they always had been. Once again, they were both privately wishing to freeze time and stay like this forever.

The fire had long since burned out and Crowley checked the small watch he had brought. It was nearly five in the morning which unfortunately meant it was time to start another day’s travel. They packed up again and attached the oxen back to the wagon. Before long they were back to making their way along the trail. There were a few points where they had to stop to clear a part of the trail, but this was still a well-trod portion that did not take much work. This was their routine for the next several days and nights. They both looked forward to their peaceful evenings together.

The first time they ran into a problem was when a wheel of the wagon had come loose and nearly fell off. They got down to look at it, both secretly hoping the other would know how to fix it. They had only made it this far without problems because neither had imagined what kind of problems they should expect to encounter. Being supernatural entities, if they did not know they shouldn’t be able to cross through a stream without any sort of hiccups, then they would not have any problem in crossing the stream. But they had gone too many days without issue, and Aziraphale had read enough to know that this was uncommon, so the anticipation of something bad may have been what caused the wheel to nearly fall off. Or maybe the wheel just hadn’t been attached well so when they hit that rock it had come ajar.

No matter the cause, the wheel was definitely not how it was supposed to be. Crowley suggested that maybe they needed to prop the wagon up on something so they could remove and reposition the wheel without breaking it. They began to look for something to prop the wagon up on. They decided that some of their trunks would work just nicely. Being a Principality and official Guardian of the Eastern Gate did have some advantages. Aziraphale was much stronger than any being of her size ought to be. So, without hesitation, she lifted the wagon off the ground enough for Crowley to slide the trunks under. Setting it carefully back down, she walked back over to the wheel.

Crowley knew that Aziraphale was stronger than she looked under that comforting and homely visage. Every time he saw the angel’s unaided strength though, he was struck with a fear and giddiness that he knew was improper for a demon. He knew his strength was more than that of a human’s but it was absolutely no match for Aziraphale’s. He could just watch her doing something like this for the rest of eternity and be completely happy. He added this to the growing list of things in his head that he could never mention to the angel. She would probably be appalled by how _attractive_ he found her strength. Nope, not attractive, why did he think of that word. He wasn’t attracted to the angel. They were immortal beings, attraction was not something they felt, that was too messy, too human.

As Aziraphale was staring at the wheel Crowley collected his thoughts and turned his attention, partly, to the problem at hand.

“Well, it doesn’t look good Angel.”

“I can see that dear. Do we have any tools to take it off with?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure? I am just certain I got all the right things. There must be something in here that will work to fix this.” Aziraphale felt flustered, she had tried so hard, admittedly only for the span of a couple of days, to find all the supplies they would need. She began hunting through the tools for something that would help.

“How about this, do you think this doodad will work?”

“Angel, I know you know that we don’t have anything for this. So why pretend? What you’ve got right now looks like it is probably meant to be used for leatherworking. So no, it is definitely NOT going to help. If you would just let me fix it _my way_ then we could get moving again.”

“Oh dear, I suppose you are right. I had just hoped that we could do this without any assistance.” The angel looked crestfallen. Crowley was tempted to miracle the right tool into the trunk, but he knew the angel would know she hadn’t bought it. So, it was the same either way.

“If it counts for anything, you have prepared us for several eventualities. Humans usually travel in bigger groups than two so they have wagons devoted to tools and supplies. We’ve only got the one. Please just let me fix this Zira. You’ve got us this far without a problem, and that is no small feat.”

Aziraphale gave Crowley a small warm smile. “Thank you dear, I suppose that we may as well use what’s at hand. Go ahead and fix it and I will put the trunks back in the wagon.”

Crowley miracled the wheel back into place and secured it. Aziraphale lifted the edge of the wagon off the ground again and Crowley pulled the trunks back. After getting re-packed they began moving again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I am a lot more awake today because I have noticed several errors and things I could change in the previous chapters. But I am still just as lazy, so I won't be doing that, c'est la vie. *shrugs*


	9. Meeting New People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They run into other travelers and ask to join their caravan. Crowley gets jealous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed this chapter. But I will say, reading back through and editing it made me realize that I hadn't done anything much with Micah. So if you are looking forward to meeting Micah, just going to warn you not to get your hopes up.

Somewhere along the Oregon Trail – Late April – 8 p.m.

They had been moving for five days and had covered just under 100 miles. They still had more than 500 left and were feeling as though, according to Crowley, they would never make it. At the end of their fifth day, they reached a group of people who had set out a few days before them. This wagon train consisted of a dozen or so families, and at least 20 wagons and carts. As far as wagon trains went, this one was larger than normal.

As they approached the group, Aziraphale stopped the oxen several yards away and they both got down from the wagon seats. A couple of the men that had been guarding the camp walked towards them with their rifles clearly in view.

“HEY,” one of the men shouted, “Don’t move any closer. Who are you?”

Crowley replied to them in his smoothest voice, the one he often used for temptations, and sauntered towards them with his hands out of view. “Howdy gentlemen, we’re just travelin’ out west like you lot. We’re looking for a place to camp tonight.”

The men had raised their rifles at Crowley’s approach but neither were prepared to shoot. Crowley knew this of course, and it was not like he would have let them shoot anyway. Had they tried; they would have found they had miraculously forgotten to load the rifles. As it was, he did not really want to get hit with a rifle or have to fend off dozens of other angry humans in the camp. So, he kept some distance.

“I said stay where you are. What’ve you got in your hands there?”

“Nothin’.” Crowley said, without making any move to show them his hands or put them at ease. He just leaned against one of the oxen, hoping that it looked relaxed and cool. Aziraphale had been watching Crowley to make sure he didn’t do anything to get them into trouble and decided it was about time to intervene. She rushed forward and everyone turned their attention to her.

“We are just, as my husband mentioned, looking for a place to camp tonight. Would it be possible for us to make camp here with your group?”

“Is it just the two o’ ya?”

“Yup.” Replied Crowley.

This took the men by surprise. They looked between the two entities, apparently husband and wife. Neither looked particularly fit for the trail. The woman looked rather out of shape to be walking all day, maybe she just rode in the wagon, lucky her. And the man was so thin that they doubted he had the strength to do the strenuous everyday tasks required to work along the trail. How had they made it this far? They only had the one wagon, some oxen, and a cow. Their supplies looked meager, but the two looked healthy. Had they started off from somewhere nearer than their own train had? There wasn’t anywhere closer to their knowledge. The two men turned to each other and decided they should call their leader out.

Before setting off, their caravan had decided it best to form some small system of hierarchy. They had elected Amos, a strong, sturdy man of 26, to lead them. He was recently married and he and his wife had one young daughter together, she was only an infant of 6 months but was strong-willed and well-behaved. The caravan had also elected someone to be second in command. This was Micah, he was an older man for the trail, being 50. He was in perfect health and the few extra years came with more knowledge of navigating and working along the trail. He was an expert leather worker and was accompanied by his family. His wife had passed on a few years ago but he had with him his three kids and their own spouses and children.

One of the men that had been guarding the camp went back to get Amos, the other stood warily watching the two entities. Crowley remained as he was but had now brought his hands to rest in front of himself. Aziraphale walked around to stand beside him. They spoke quietly to one another in Enochian, being careful to not speak too loudly. Humans never liked to be out of the loop and they especially detested when people were speaking a language they didn’t know. It always seemed to put them on edge.

“What exactly is the plan here Angel?”

“Well if they are amenable, I would like to join their little community of travelers.”

“Really Zira? That’s just going to slow us down.” Crowley protested, making a show of disinterest in the whole proceeding.

“But it could be fun dear, maybe some of them are going to the same place as us. And they might need our help. Plus, I know you got an entire night of temptations in when we were in D.C. Satan knows how much that did for ‘Down Below’. I think it is about time for me to settle the score, as it was.”

So, his angel had known what he was up to that evening in the capital, and she wasn’t mad. That was something, but now it was being held over him. She had backed the demon into a corner. “Fine, we’ll see if we can join them.” Crowley sighed.

When the man that had left to retrieve the leader of the camp returned, they both turned their attention to the newcomer.

“Howdy, I hear you are looking for a place to camp for the evening?” Crowley and Aziraphale both nodded shortly to this.

“Well if you are planning on camping here, I’d like to go through your wagon real quick. Not that we don’t trust ya, we just gotta be careful out here. Never know who you might run into.”

Amos looked to Crowley at this and the demon just shrugged in response. Not like he had anything in the wagon that he cared about. The angel looked a little more worried though, she never liked strangers handling her books. Thankfully these were not first editions, they were mostly just pocketbook romance novels from the train stations and shops around the cities they had visited.

The man walked over to the back of the wagon and hopped in, he was followed by the two other men and then Crowley and Aziraphale. He began opening the trunks and cases and rifling through, looking for any kinds of weapons beyond the standard, or items that the camp had decreed off-limits. What he was presented with was a reasonable amount of food for two travelers and books. The books were a bit of a surprise. Most of the people on the trail could be expected to have a journal, Bible, and maybe one or two of their favorite books. But any more than five in total and the necessity of them were called into question. It looked though like this pair had not considered how much these books would weigh down their wagon and had omitted several other critical items in place of these. Maybe they were intending to trade books to other travelers, but it seemed unlikely. They had the strangest assortment of items that Amos had ever seen in a wagon.

“You haven’t even got any ammo for your rifle here. What were you gonna do if a coyote showed up?”

“Oh dear me, I would never shoot a coyote.”

“Well miss, I wasn’t really expecting you would but your, was it husband, would need to. And how was he going to protect you should thieves ambush you?”

“Well I hardly need to be protected,” Aziraphale scoffed, “and Crowley dear, you would never hurt a dog, would you?”

“Why are you asking me Angel? Not like they would come anywhere near me anyway.”

“True dear, they are quite silly, there is really nothing to be scared of.” Aziraphale and Crowley had forgotten their company for a brief moment, but Amos cut back in just before Crowley was about to mention something about Hellhounds.

“I don’t know what you two are talkin’ bout. But where’d ya say you’d left from? You have food but no medcin. Weren’t gonna last long without that. Why, I think the first old campground you stop at would probably give you somethin’ nasty, and that’d be that.”

“Medicine Crowley! How could you let me forget that! I knew there was something big I was forgetting.”

“Why would you get us medicine Angel, that doesn’t even make sense. Honestly, I don’t know where you get these notions of doing things the _proper_ _way_ from.”

“No, I think your woman is right there, you really shoulda got medcin, not gettin’ far without it.”

“She is not _my_ woman.” Crowley hissed in return; this was met with a confused look. He then grumbled something intelligible about the possessiveness of humans and that he didn’t even need to be here. This was met with an eye-roll from the angel and a quick pat on his shoulder.

“Anyway,” said the man, “name’s Amos, I am running this train. As it seems that y’all won’t make it far without some help, you can join our caravan. But you are gonna hav’ta keep your own food provisions, we don’t have extra. What’s your names and where you headed?”

“That’s so kind of you, we would be delighted to join you!” replied the angel, “And Amos is such a lovely name. Crowley, did you ever meet Amos?”

“No, ‘fraid not Angel.”

“Oh, that’s a shame… Where are my manners! I am Ezra and this is my husband Anthony Crowley. We are going to a settlement in the Rockies, isn’t that right dear?”

Crowley did not understand how Aziraphale could just say that they were husband and wife so easily. And she made it seem like the most natural and obvious thing in the world. He supposed that maybe it did look that way to anyone else. But hearing the words nearly shut Crowley’s brain down entirely. He made a vaguely affirmative noise and tried to look unaffected.

Amos wasn’t sure if he had understood a single thing coming from this pair in the whole time they’d spoken. They seemed like a perfectly ordinary couple, but not a couple he would expect to see out here. They were both unnaturally handsome but in completely opposite manners. Everything they said was English, so maybe it was just because they weren’t from the area that he had a hard time following their conversation. Either way, they seemed harmless, he just worried that they may cause a problem for the camp, seeing as they had come so unprepared. The camp had already had one death and really did not want to experience another two.

“Well if you want to bring your oxen and cow over here, they can come graze with the rest, then I’ll send you over to Emanuel and he’ll give you the lay of the land. We got some rules here but otherwise we just do our best to take care of each other. It is tough out here, and I’m afraid the worst is still ahead.”

With that Amos led them over to the camp and helped them untie the oxen, he called a few others over to help and they made short work of the ties. Aziraphale was worried that the oxen might make a break for freedom, but they mostly just stood where they’d been tied in. Crowley had hoped for a bit more fun but figured he probably shouldn’t encourage it.

They met with Emanuel and found that he was a man of about 35 who was an educated and well-spoken gentleman. He seemed to be in charge of the official record-keeping for the group and Aziraphale got along with him well. The way that the man leaned a little closer to the angel as they spoke by one of the fires made him bristle a little bit. He reminded himself that the angel was more than capable of dealing with anyone that came her way, and if she wanted to be friends with this man there was nothing wrong with that. He was just concerned because she always had been bad at understanding when someone was flirting. He glared at Emanuel behind his glasses, but this went unnoticed.

Most of the conversation was completely ignored by Crowley. When he did not feel that the man was giving unasked for attention to the angel, Crowley turned his own attention elsewhere. He was flustered by how this man’s attentions to Aziraphale made him react. He felt some amount of shame at the show of possessiveness. Crowley knew that there was absolutely no way that he could control anyone, human, supernatural being, or otherwise. So, he turned his focus on the camp. There were some people, mostly the children, already sound asleep in the small spaces in the wagons or nearby in their sleeping gear. Most everyone else was awake and sitting around a few small fires.

There were a few people eating their evening meal, though most had been finishing this as they had arrived. A couple of women were cleaning out some dishes, one was making some butter, likely for tomorrow’s meals. A few people were off tending to the livestock. One fire was surrounded by a few young men playing cards. Crowley had caught that gambling was strongly discouraged in this group, but not outright forbidden. He paid special attention to this group; it would be easy enough to tempt them into a little gambling. Most everyone around looked to be in good health. There was a general air of exhaustion but otherwise, this group seemed to be doing well up to this point. He had heard from the angel and briefly from Amos that the trail was a dangerous and deadly place. There were rumors that anywhere from one-tenth to one-quarter of people who set out on the trail would not make it. Crowley could not imagine what made so many humans so desperate to leave what they knew and risk it all to start again elsewhere.

Finally, having gone through all the rules of the camp, Emanuel turned to Crowley and informed him that he would need to sign up to be on the night watch every couple of days. All the men over the age of 16 were required to. There were two shifts each night, and each shift had two or three men on guard.

“Yeah sure whenever’s fine.” Crowley muttered in response to when he would like to take a shift.

“Well how about I put you down for the second shift two evenings from now.”

“Hmph.”

“You really ought to be more polite to this kind young man, dear.” Said Aziraphale, she looked smug and Crowley wanted to get back at her for this. He just wasn’t sure how yet.

“What are you going to make Ezra do?” Asked Crowley.

This hadn’t seemed to cross Emanuel’s mind yet. “Well are you skilled in any trade? And that goes for you too Mr. Crowley, we always need more craftsmen to keep our tools in good shape.”

“Ha, yeah I’m not going to be able to help you there mate.” Replied Crowley.

Emanuel did not like this Anthony character. And this poor brilliant woman, Ezra, was stuck with him. She even called him by his last name. Maybe this was just something that was done where they came from. He wished he could do something to get Ezra away from him, but she seemed, for a reason he couldn’t fathom, rather fond of the strange man. Everything about these two was out of place here, but he did his best to remain civil.

“Well, what about you Ezra? Are you good at making clothes? Or maybe good at mending them. Are you good at cooking?”

Aziraphale was making a face at all of these suggestions that Crowley found hilarious. He doubted she could do any of these without relying heavily on miracles.

“Ezra’s pretty good at helping the hurt and sickly, and the like.” Crowley suggested, Aziraphale brightened at this. She did love to take care of people; it was her job, more or less, as a Principality. She had considered mentioning she was well trained in guarding but found that they likely wouldn’t allow a woman to guard the camp. The human’s silly gender roles always held them back. Why, if they knew they had _the_ Guard of the Eastern Gate, they would have felt no need for any other guards. Though she supposed it was probably for the best, as she had a tendency to give up any weapons on hand when someone asked kindly.

“Oh, well I will make note of that and get the word out.”

“ _Anthony,_ ” Aziraphale tried out the name, it felt weird and wasn’t sure how to manage it. “is great with kids. So, if any of the young ones are bored, I am sure he would be more than happy to entertain them. Isn’t that right dear?”

“Ngk. Sure. I guess so Angel.” Crowley said, he had initially shrunk back at this suggestion. But quickly found he was glad to hear the angel suggest it. It showed that she trusted him, and that felt huge to the demon. He was smiling warmly at the angel and forgot where they were for a moment. Emanuel interrupted his thoughts by making a noncommittal noise to Aziraphale’s suggestion. It was clear that he did not yet trust the demon, and Crowley could not say he blamed him.

“Well, that’s great. You two can go find a place to sleep for the evening and spend some time getting to know everyone. If you’ve got a problem, bring it up with Amos, Micah, or I, but hopefully there won’t be any issues.”

Crowley felt that this man was going to be his problem. He reminded him too much of the other angels he had met. They all acted too high and mighty and didn’t watch their step. He was tempted to mess with the man but knew the angel would disapprove. So, he let him be, for now.


	10. Day one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a lot of narration, which is maybe not the most exciting thing to read. There is a lot of domestic fluff. They meet a few new people. Emanuel comes to bother Crowley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I was not thinking that this was one of my better chapters. But according to my editing stuff it is great (grammar-wise) hopefully it is fun too. *shrugs*

Same Day – 11 p.m.

That night Crowley and Aziraphale talked with a couple of other people, at Aziraphale’s insistence. They only introduced themselves before Crowley drug them back to their wagon. He wanted to just hide out in the back of the wagon and ignore their new companions. Aziraphale relented and allowed herself to be pulled back by the demon. They lit a small lamp. Aziraphale got a book out. And for the first night in a while, Crowley slept.

Just before 4 a.m. Crowley was gently shaken awake by the angel. He felt entirely at peace here under the angel’s gentle gaze. He had taken his glasses off to go to sleep and Aziraphale was staring at his eyes. There was no disgust or fear in that stare, just the gentle, protective, homely gaze of his angel. He could see the book she had been reading when he went to sleep. There was no bookmark in it so Crowley wondered if maybe she had finished it during the night.

In reality, Aziraphale had not read much of the book at all. She had tried, but as soon as Crowley had shut his eyes, she found herself distracted. She thought that maybe she should feel some shame at having watched the demon sleep all night, but they were meant to be a married couple after all. So what shame should there be? If anyone passed by they would catch a glimpse of what they would assume to be an intimate moment between a couple bound by ‘holy matrimony’. But the trouble was, they weren’t that, and they couldn’t be. Aziraphale never understood the appeal of sleeping but seeing the demon so at peace made her long to curl up beside him and rest. She decided to wake Crowley up before one of the guards blew the horn to wake the rest of the camp up. She didn’t want Crowley to wake up unpleasantly and certainly didn’t want to be caught staring at a time that wouldn’t be easily explainable. So, she gently nudged him awake and enjoyed the moment that she got to spend looking into his magnificent eyes. It was such a shame that people were so frightened by them, as Aziraphale thought they were one of the most breathtaking sights on the Earth.

Just after waking, the horn sounded to wake up the rest of the camp. Both entities got up and stepped out of the wagon and watched the movement of waking humans all over the camp. One of the night’s guards was walking through the camp, checking that everyone was awake and well. It was all a well-practiced routine that would continue for the next month or so. People began to set a couple small fires for cooking breakfast. Others began to go check on the livestock. Crowley and Aziraphale went to find their oxen and began to put them into place. It was a familiar ritual, but in this setting, it was entirely novel.

Aziraphale gathered her breakfast and offered a dish to Crowley. He took it with no intention of eating any. Aziraphale began to drift over to a group of people sitting and eating their meals, Crowley shadowed her, lagging a few steps behind. Aziraphale was far too bright and cheery for the morning so when she sat and made their introductions, Crowley simply made vague gestures in response.

They were sitting with a family that explained they were headed West to start a new life. The previous generation of their family had come to America for much the same reason. They were a family that wanted to be one step ahead and was willing to risk it all to get there. As a demon, Crowley felt like he should include this as greed in his next report to Hell. Many of the travelers, ever since gold and silver were found, were out for riches, so the demon knew his job would be an easy one. One of the young women asked Crowley and Aziraphale why they had decided to travel West. Aziraphale was not entirely sure how to answer this. So, she turned to Crowley.

“Oh well, you know. The prospect of fortune, the freedom of the open country, and a bit of the ineffable.” Aziraphale smirked at Crowley’s response, she knew Crowley hated the word ‘ineffable’ and felt that she really overused it. So to hear him say it, if only to be annoying, was amusing.

“Are you practicing in any religion? Not that we mind what religion, that is the freedom of the West.” It went unspoken that they still expected some form of ‘Christ-centered’ religion from the pair, they just did not care which.

“You could say that.” Replied Crowley, he leaned back at this and was nearly sprawled out in the grass.

“Yes, well, maybe practicing isn’t the best word, is it dear?”

“Mhm, maybe not, though some may describe us as _religious._ More likely _biblical_.”

Their audience looked confused by this but were satisfied enough hearing the words religious and biblical. They were probably some form of new-age Christian, so the woman who had asked let it slide.

“Well that’s great then.” She said, feeling that this had warranted some kind of reply. Then she asked, “So how long have you two known each other?”

Aziraphale paled at this. Maybe it had been a bad idea to try and get to know some of their fellow travelers. They had not really discussed their human cover yet. But the truth was always best, wasn’t it?

“Forever really, since the beginning of time at any rate.” Crowley responded before Aziraphale got the chance to. The woman seemed even more perplexed by this than she had their previous answers. But she did not seem prepared to accuse them of lying so Crowley wasn’t too concerned about it.

“Well yes, I suppose it has been a rather long time dear. Anyway, that is enough about us I think. What about you dears? I don’t think I caught your names before.” The angel tried to deflect the conversation. She had introduced them when they sat down but their company had never introduced themselves. This provided the perfect cover for Aziraphale to jump behind to deflect any further relationship questions from the others.

“Oh of course, where are my manners! I am Joan and this is my sister Evelyn and her husband Oscar. They’ve got a few kids somewhere around here.” She directed this towards the two beside her.

The woman, Evelyn, brightened at this, “Liam’s our oldest, he’s five. Probably off playing with some of the others. Then we’ve got Harriette and Ruth, twins, just two years old. They’re sleepin’ in the wagon still.”

Her husband, Oscar, was scarcely paying attention. He was working on crafting something that looked like it was going to be a doll. Aziraphale figured it was probably for the twins and found it rather sweet. It was much better than anything she could miracle because of all its little imperfections that showed it was crafted with care. Crowley just thought this to be sappy angelic nonsense. But had he been asked to get a gift for the angel, he would be more inclined to buy something hand-made, instead of miracling something. It was all a matter of perspective.

They were sitting with a few other women but they were engrossed in their own conversations. They chatted some more with Joan and Evelyn about their journey so far. They learned that they spent most of the day walking. Oscar was usually out front with several of the other men clearing a path. Which left the two women to carry the twins.

Being a demon, Crowley ought to understand greed. He knew it was a sin, and it drove humans to do some of the most ridiculous things. But he never really did understand why they put themselves through these kinds of torture just for the chance to be a little wealthier. It wasn’t something he was made to understand, just encourage. As it was, there was a part of him that still felt bad for these people. Life on Earth was far better than living in Heaven OR Hell, so why suffer through it? Emanuel, the bookkeeper, approached them at this point. Crowley’s thoughts of goodwill completely vanished at this, and he sat up straighter, more defensive.

“Anthony, I’ve been looking for you.” Called out Emanuel with faux innocence, “I’d like you to go with some of the other men today to help clear the trail for the wagons. You won’t have to do it every day, but as part of our camp you have to take some responsibility.” He finished this with some amount of added haughtiness and superiority. If Crowley did not already hate Emanuel, he certainly did now. He was glaring daggers into him, but not actually doing anything as Aziraphale probably would have disapproved. But he was definitely thinking some deeply demonic thoughts.

“Dear, I think it would be good for you. You have been terribly bored on the wagon, and you could meet some of the others this way.” Aziraphale said innocently, though it was evident she could tell Crowley was upset.

“Fine.” Crowley stood and stormed off in the direction Emanuel was indicating. Emanuel turned to follow him. This left Aziraphale alone with the women, as Oscar had got up to help gather the oxen during this exchange.

“Since Anthony won’t be in our wagon today, I can offer it for the twins to ride in for the day. I am terribly afraid there is not much space, but at least this way you won’t have to carry them.” Aziraphale offered this to Evelyn.

“Oh that would be just wonderful! Thank you so much!” Evelyn exclaimed.

“It’s really the least I can do. And I think I could walk today if you wanted to direct our wagon, give your feet a rest.” As she said this, Aziraphale sent a small miracle to the two women to heal the sores on their feet. She hoped that if they took her offer, they would just attribute it to being able to rest that day. Aziraphale was quite worried, this camp was going to need a lot of miracles if everyone was to make it to the other side. She would not stand for any unnecessary suffering while she was on guard. The angel knew Crowley would try to convince her to let the humans be, but she committed herself to protecting this group. They were in the angel’s care now, and Crowley couldn’t stop her from doing her job. Just as Aziraphale would not stop the demon from doing his.

Aziraphale got the two young women and the twins settled into the wagon. She then assured them that Liam was being looked after elsewhere. And then she took her leave. She was going to spend the day making sure everyone was well and cared for. There was a long journey left ahead of them as they set in motion for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter has a lot more dialogue. And there is a bit of action with Aziraphale!


	11. An Exhausting Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: blood/injury and sexism, not related to one another.
> 
> The two have to each deal with the humans on their own this morning. Crowley finds them incredibly tedious, Aziraphale is exhausted and a hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please see the content warning above. The sexism is in the first half, pretty much the same as the rest seen so far. The injury is in the second half, tried not to get graphic but if you don't like that stuff please feel free to skip the second half. I will put a little summary in the notes at the bottom for those who skip it.

Same Day – 9 a.m.

Crowley was fuming. He wasn’t actually on fire or smoking, at least not yet, but he felt that it was a very real possibility in the very near future. They had been clearing the ‘trail’ for two hours. Being far from any starting points now, there wasn’t much of a trail to speak of. Instead, it was just an ocean of grass. Before they ran into the camp, they had been on well-travelled trails. And when those had run out, Crowley just wished for the trail to be clear in advance and it was.

Now, this was not an option. At least not one that wouldn’t upset ~~his~~ the angel. If the humans expected the trail to need clearing, then it would have to be this way. It wasn’t so much the work that Crowley detested. But rather just the idea of work. He wasn’t putting much energy into it, every time he bent to shovel some dirt, or took a swing at the grass, it would suddenly just move out of the way perfectly in front of him. He just hated that he had to pretend to be human. If the angel would let him have his way, they would nearly be at the settlement already. There was no sense in doing things the human way. The human way was boring and inefficient.

Being late April, the weather was good for Crowley. The heat was bearable and the sun was nice. Or at least it would have been if he could have been in his snake form. In his human form though, it was awful. His corporation seemed to hate the sun like this. His skin was getting all red and itchy, in what he had heard described as a sunburn before. He kept wishing it away, but there was still the lingering burn that he couldn’t entirely banish. He kept as covered as he could but that only did so much. And the clothes he had been wearing were not quite ideal. They were just a little too tight for this kind of work. But he made minor adjustments to loosen them as they went, hoping no one would notice the difference.

And then there was the conversation. The men up front were mostly young and full of energy. They were typical human men of the time as far as Crowley could tell, they made a show of being concerned with predominately money and women. Though Crowley could sense some were not as committed to these things as others, they still made a show of it, and that put Crowley on edge. He was never good at encouraging greed or lust like other demons were. He knew for one, having been on Earth long enough, that the two would inevitably show up anyway. And he didn’t like the crass behavior these inspired. He could handle greed if it was related to gambling, but otherwise he avoided these.

“Mr. Crowley,” said one of the young ones, hardly even 17 by the looks of it. “how’d you ever end up with such a talkative lady? I thought most women were quiet.”

Typical, Crowley thought, he was furious for Aziraphale, “For one, _kid_ ,” Crowley sneered at the boy, “women are just as intelligent and capable as any of you lot, if not more so. And they ought to speak their mind just as often as you. Ezra is free to say and do as she pleases, and so is any woman for that matter. Don’t go thinking they are less than you just because your parents say so.”

“And as far as how we ended up together, that is none of your business.” Crowley added shortly, as an afterthought.

“Hm. Well my pa said that a woman ought to listen to her man, shouldn’t do nothin’ without askin’ first. They can’t be trusted.”

“Well your father is an idiot. Why are you even talking about this anyway? Aren’t kids supposed to be rebellious or something and go against their parents.”

“Well the Bible says to listen to your parents, didn’t you ever learn that Mr. Crowley?” Said the kid accusatorily.

“The Bible is shit if you are asking me. Written by humans that don’t even know the half of it. They get all this free will and forgiveness then they waltz around like they know everything. Don’t even know how lucky you are.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t believe in God Mr. Crowley?”

Crowley sighed, humans were always wanting to believe in things, but they never really wanted to know or understand. They may have said that they were searching for knowledge, but when presented with it they tended to call it a fake and continue searching.

“Oh, I _believe_ in God, though I wasn’t really given the choice to do otherwise. At any rate, I don’t trust Her.” Crowley mused. He knew sometimes the best way to win an argument with a human was to make them so confused they forgot what they were arguing for. And when it was a kid, being a moron, it didn’t take much. Aziraphale didn’t consider this winning, but Crowley never cared much for the details, getting them to shut up was enough for him.

“You know, I don’t get you Mr. Crowley. You say weird things that don’t make sense.”

“Good.” Grumbled Crowley, he’d had more than enough of this kid. He went back to shoveling a mound of dirt that had been declared a problem for the wagons. The dirt knew what was best for it and quickly moved away. Leaving, instead of a mound, a gaping hole. Crowley just shrugged and moved forwards, that was someone else’s problem.

The kid was still trailing behind him and seemed prepared to continue his tirade of questions. Crowley could deal with kids, but this one was old enough to really get on his nerves. Crowley decided to take a quick break by making the excuse of needing to go relieve himself so he could wander off into the grass for a while.

When he returned, he was glad to see that the boy’s attention was elsewhere and Crowley was able to go back to being simply miserable without company. He was missing the angel and hoping she was finding the humans just as difficult as he was.

***

Aziraphale had been walking alongside the wagons for a few hours now. Her feet were starting to hurt and the sun was glaring in her eyes. She was wishing she’d grabbed an extra pair of the demon’s glasses, but figured it was probably too late to conjure a pair now without raising some amount of suspicion. She had been trying to visit as many people as possible and felt like she was making good progress. But when she looked up, Aziraphale saw that the wagon train stretched out in front of her as far as she could see. And looking back she had only passed five or six wagons. There were at least twenty more.

Crowley was at least a half-mile away from her, but it felt now like they were in entirely different worlds. She hoped that he was having a better time of the day’s journey than she was but doubted it. She missed the demon’s constant complaints. Instead she was met with guarded smiles and wary glances. She hadn’t met very many people yet but word got out quickly about the new arrivals. Everyone knew her already, and for the most part, they seemed to have heard good stories about her and Crowley. But people were cautious because every story spoke of their unpreparedness. The community seemed afraid that they were going to be a burden. And Aziraphale was doing everything she could to lift that burden.

So far, she had taken care of the blisters on several travelers’ feet. She had to do this carefully as most of them were currently walking, so it was more of a delayed miracle. She had also got rid of a few parasites in the oxen and cattle she had passed. These would not have been lethal but they wouldn’t have been fun by any means. Then she had seen to warding off a bit of scurvy in one of the kids that refused to eat foods with any actual nutrients. Otherwise, she had spent the day talking to everyone she passed. She tried her best to learn where their ailments may lie, but it was always difficult to pinpoint.

Eventually though Emanuel had run back to find her. He looked a bit frayed and she set a hand on his shoulder to calm him. To this, he gave a soft and gentle smile. So she figured she had successfully calmed his nerves.

“There’s a kid a few carts ahead that fell while running along with one of the other kids. He caught his leg under one of the wheels and broke it. Anthony said the other day you were good with medical stuff, thought you might be able to help.”

“Oh dear me, that sounds dreadful. Show me up there right away and I will see what I can do. Has anyone else had a look yet?”

“No ma’am, I came to you straight away. Our best medical man is out front and I knew your wagon was closer so I figured I’d let you take the first look.”

“Well thank you, I’ll just follow you up there.” Aziraphale had a bit of a blush. She was glad to finally be of service to these people and was honored that they trusted her.

Emanuel noted the blush and felt a rush of adrenaline. This amazing woman was blushing at the small amount of trust/praise he’d given. She must never receive that from her husband, what a shame he thought. The more he observed Ezra, the more he did not understand why she was with Anthony. It just did not make any sense. They seemed to know one another well enough but did not make a striking couple. Or so Emanuel thought.

He walked swiftly beside Ezra trying to keep his attention on the matter at hand. He gave her a quick report of the state of the kid’s leg and what his mother was doing to keep him calm. Then he asked Ezra, “What do you think will be best to do? I imagine you may be able to set the bone and make a splint, but out here you can’t do any surgery. Do you think we should find something to use for stitches?”

Ezra seemed to mostly ignore his comments on the matter as she was hurrying forward. He admired her attention to the matter at hand, and figured she was probably deep in thought about what to do to help the poor kid. Emanuel himself was never one for medical things, but he knew they required an impressive intelligence. He admired the medical field but preferred to stay away from it.

“And I sent someone out front to get our man who usually takes care of the injuries. He will probably take another quarter of an hour to arrive.”

“Yes, well, good thing I was nearby.” Said Ezra. They were now approaching the wagon with the injured boy.

“This will be the one,” pointed Emanuel, though that was obvious enough considering the cries coming from the back. It sounded awful, and Emanuel, for one, wanted no part in this so he stayed course beside the wagon while Ezra climbed up into the back.

Taking in her surroundings, Aziraphale cringed when she noticed the distraught state of the kid in front of her. There was a fair amount of blood on the floor of the wagon and Aziraphale really did not want to stain her clothes. She cleared off the blood that would be under or near her dress with a small miracle, then approached the mother and child. The boy was crying because of the pain, which seemed natural enough. But the mother looked absolutely traumatized.

Aziraphale knew that healing the leg wouldn’t be a problem. But dealing with all those complicated little emotions of the people would be much harder. The mother was logical and knew that even though a broken leg is not a lethal matter on its own. Out here, far from anything, and always on the move, a broken leg could very well be a death sentence. Aziraphale could not even imagine the horror that the mother must be facing.

She sat down near them and wished for Crowley to be here; he would know how to talk to them. But he wasn’t here so she started in her calmest voice, “Hello my dears, let me just take a look at this and I will get you all patched up and right as rain in no time. Now, what is your name young lad?”

“Isaac.” Replied the boy through tears.

“Alright Isaac, you are doing so well.” Aziraphale rest a hand on Isaac’s shoulder to calm him then turned to finally look at the wound on his leg. It was a nasty gash and left untreated would quickly become infected. The bone was clearly broken and nearly visible. Aziraphale shuddered when she saw it, but she had seen, and healed, worse.

“Okay Isaac, I am going to move your leg now, it may hurt a little bit. I’ll just put it right and we will make you a cast so you don’t move it too much and it gets the chance to heal. You won’t be allowed to go running along with your friends for a few days but you will be back with them in no time.” Aziraphale didn’t know how long it was supposed to take to heal something like this without the aid of miracles. But she knew the humans did not expect it to be immediate, so she would make a cast around the kid’s leg to keep it out of sight. The only one that may notice that the leg was actually healed would be Isaac himself.

She gathered a few supplies and took some that had been set in the back of the wagon, to make something resembling a stiff cast for a child’s leg. Then she touched the skin just below the gash and quietly said, “No skin damaged, no bones broken.” With enough conviction for the miracles to take effect.

She shielded this from everyone’s view then checked to make sure it had worked. After seeing that the leg was healed, the angel quickly assembled the cast onto the healed child’s uninjured leg.

“That should work quite nicely my dears. Keep that on for about five days and then we should be able to see how your injury is healing. If it does not feel right _do not_ take it off, just come find me.”

“What did you do? How do you know it won’t get infected?” Asked the mother skeptically.

Aziraphale reached out a hand to the mother’s shoulder and guiltily dispelled her worry and doubt. “I just set it right, it will heal just fine, no need to worry about a thing.”

This was not a very reassuring statement but with an angel’s hand on your shoulder, worry does not really have a place. Even if it is the hand of the most consistently distressed and on edge angel, it still does wonders to calm your nerves.

“Thank you so much,” exclaimed the dazed mother, Aziraphale began to worry she had overdone it. She quickly withdrew her hand and shook it out, Heaven was going to get onto her again about the frivolous miracles. This was at least the third today.

“It was really no trouble, now Isaac, please do be more careful in the future.”

“Of course, miss. Are you kinda magical or something? I been to the doctors before but they were never so quick, they all just look at things and talk.”

“No no no, I am certainly not magical. Just um, good at fixing things.”

There were new voices outside the wagon. They were Isaac’s father and the man they had called for from upfront. He wasn’t a doctor, just knew more about medicine than anyone else.

“Is this the wagon with the hurt kid?” asked the man looking in the back of the wagon.

“Oh yes, but it’s alright now, he really is much better.” Replied Aziraphale.

“They said his leg was broken. I think I ought to take a look.”

“There really is no need kind sir. It is all bandaged up and will be better in a jiffy.”

“Not to say anything against ya’ miss, but I really think I should see to it from here.”

Aziraphale was growing increasingly nervous. She could not let this man see the leg, that would raise too many questions. But she also could not use any more miracles to get him to go away. If only Crowley were here. He could surely come up with something to get him to move on.

“I think it would be best to get him out of this wagon and clean it up so that no one gets sick from all of this.” She gestured to the mess that remained in the wagon, this would hopefully buy enough time to get the man’s attention elsewhere.

He seemed to agree that this was a good idea and offered to carry Isaac over to another wagon. Then came back to talk to the mother and lead her back to her son. The mother assured him that Aziraphale had done a marvelous job, and Isaac said that his leg didn’t even hurt that bad anymore. By what was likely an unintentional miracle, or some other form of divine intervention, the man took this as enough to not look into this issue any further. He made his way back to the front and the father of Isaac went to sit with the rest of his family.

Aziraphale stood in the back of the wagon, she felt great. It was always wonderful to do healing miracles without getting caught by humans. The chances to do these became less and less frequent as time went on. Humans were getting better at understanding their corporations, specifically the limits of their corporations. If you got a hole through your hand and by morning it was all healed, it was no longer possible to tell them that this was a perfectly natural thing to happen and really it was nothing to look into, you would really be surprised how often it happens, really.

Now the angel was faced with the problem of cleaning out the wagon, the human way. She didn’t even have anything to properly clean it. She started to try for a little bit, but as the wagon was still in motion, she quickly gave up and climbed down. When they stopped for their midday meal, she would see to getting it cleaned then.

When the angel disembarked from the wagon she was met with Emanuel. He gave her a bright smile which she returned with a little less enthusiasm. It was nice to be met with a welcoming face, thought Aziraphale, and this one seemed like he was going to become a good friend.

Emanuel was excited to see Ezra. He had seen the boy being taken down from the wagon and was impressed by the significant change in everyone’s appearance. They all looked relaxed and at ease, the boy did not even look like he was in pain anymore. He wanted to talk to Ezra and hear all about her work. When she stepped down to walk alongside him, he felt an absolute thrill.

“That was amazing Ezra. I am not much one for medicine myself, but I know a job well done when I see it.”

“Thank you dear, it really was no trouble. I would be glad to help anyone else in the future.”

“Well, once the word gets out about what you did, I am sure you will be flocked with people complaining of sore feet or bad sunburns. Going to make, Tom, the man you met earlier, quite jealous.”

“There is really nothing to be jealous of, I’ve just um, studied medicine a lot.”

“Very unusual for a woman. I am not even sure if most of the women here know how to do simple maths. Nearly everyone is literate but as far as education goes, they don’t have much more than that.”

“That really is a shame, I should see if Crowley wouldn’t mind teaching some of the people here in the evenings. You know, he has been a tutor before. Oh and I could tell them all about the world’s history and read everyone stories! Back in London I had a bookshop, books are the most lovely inventions. They can take you into the author’s head. It really is the best way to get to know the mind of a human, you get to explore life through someone else. I imagine it is about the closest thing on Earth to imaging what it must be like for Her.”

Emanuel wasn’t sure what to make of some of this, so he just went for the easy conversation points hoping the rest would make more sense as they went. “Not to offend you or Anthony, but I don’t think the folks here want to spend their evenings learning. But they do always love a good storyteller. If you remember some of the stories from your books, I imagine you could draw quite the audience here. And what happened to your bookshop? Did Anthony sell it?” It was incredibly difficult for a woman to own a piece of property on her own. So, Emanuel figured that when she said _she_ had a bookshop, it was meant to be Anthony and Ezra.

“No, he didn’t sell it. It is still there. We don’t plan on staying out here forever you know, and when we go back, I’ll reopen my bookshop.”

Maybe it was left to her in a family will. Or maybe Anthony just paid so little attention to Ezra’s interests that she considered the shop to be hers. Either way, it did not sound as though Anthony had any claim in the shop. Emanuel wondered about this for a while. He wasn’t really sure what to make of it. Maybe this was one of the few women who did own property. But if she was married, wouldn’t it go to her husband? That was just the way it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary of second half:  
> Aziraphale is walking along the caravan healing people discreetly and talking with them. Emanuel comes to find her saying there is an injured kid. Emanuel thinks badly of Crowley because he is mistrustful and probably jealous. Aziraphale goes to heal the kid and doesn't really know how long an injury like a broken bone should take to heal. So, she patches it up and covers it, saying not to look at it for a few days. The mother of the kid knows this isn't how a broken bone should be fixed so Aziraphale makes her doubt disappear for a while. There are too many humans about to hide miracles, so she starts using more to get them to forget about it, the angel is not about to get caught in the middle of the Oregon Trail by a bunch of weary travelers.  
> Having healed the child and used too many miracles, she leaves the cleaning up for Crowley. Surely he could spare a demonic miracle on that. Emanuel is more in awe of and impressed by Aziraphale. Definitely bordering on infatuated. Aziraphale talks to Emanuel about the bookshop, he thinks Crowley is the one that forced her to abandon it.


	12. Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stories are told by various entities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of just a cute little chapter in between some of the bigger action items. Hope you enjoy it!

Midday (high noon)

The wagons in front of them were coming to a stop. They were beginning to cluster around as it was time for lunch. They would all take an hour to eat and sit for a while. Aziraphale immediately began looking around for Crowley as they began approaching the group that had been out front. Crowley spotted Aziraphale first and noticed quickly that she was walking with Emanuel. As they got closer Crowley glared at Emanuel with what he considered his most demonic glare.

Emanuel could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up in warning. He wasn’t sure why but then suddenly Ezra began waving and beaming in the direction of Anthony. As she was beaming, Emanuel began to feel static in the air. He became seriously concerned that, even though there was not a cloud in sight, he was about to get struck by a bolt of lightning. As Ezra hurried over to Mr. Crowley, the man’s gaze softened and the static was gone. The air still felt different but it did not feel as dangerous as it had moments before.

“CROWLEY,” shouted the angel, waving her arms.

“Yeah alright, I’m coming.” Replied the demon as he met the angel in the middle.

“You really must hear about the morning I’ve had. Are they going to let you off for the afternoon? I can’t imagine that these poor men can do that awful work all day.”

“Yeah, I think they’re bringing in fresh hands to clear the trail.”

“Oh good, would you like to come sit down, I’ll get us some tea from the wagon.” With this, she bounded over to the wagon. Crowley was not sure the last time he had seen Aziraphale so delighted with herself without holding a book or eating something she’d never tried before.

“Hey Anthony,” said Emanuel approaching, “Ezra really did a fantastic job today. She is quite clever, isn’t she? Said she used to have a bookshop back in London?”

“Yup.” Crowley didn’t really want to talk to Emanuel. He did not trust him but would put up with the man, if only for the angel’s sake.

“She seems to think that she is going to get to go back to it. But Anthony, you seem like a reasonable man,” Emanuel intoned this with the utmost conviction, but he saw Anthony smirk and raise an eyebrow behind his dark glasses, “you must know that coming out here is something that people intend to do for life. So, tell me, what did you do, did you sell the shop? Did you give it to a friend? Why tell her she will get to go back, when we both know that isn’t likely to happen.”

Crowley had not been expecting anything from this conversation, but if he had been, it certainly wasn’t this.

“Are you accusing me of something?” Crowley said with some amount of disgust.

“Not if there isn’t anything to be accused of,” responded Emanuel with what he hoped sounded like confidence. But his confidence was quickly sliding away as the hairs on the back of his neck stood back up. He was suddenly very nervous and aware of the man’s gaze through his tinted glasses. The man had a bit of a snarl, and had his teeth always looked so pointy?

“You humansss, just think you have it all figured out. I have heard more than enough from the lot of you today. The shop is none of my concern and it is certainly not yoursss. If you think that Ezra doesn’t _understand_ something then you have grossly underestimated her. Ssso get off my case!” Crowley spat out.

Ezra was returning so Emanuel dropped it, but he scowled at Anthony. This didn’t clear up anything. And it made him more worried for Ezra’s safety. This Anthony character just did not seem like the kind of man to be trusted.

“Oh Crowley, here’s some tea. Do cheer up! I am sure your morning can’t have been that bad.”

“Ngk.” Crowley took the tea from Aziraphale and relaxed a little bit as their fingers brushed.

“Well I really must tell you about my morning. And Emanuel, do sit and eat something I imagine you must be starving.”

Aziraphale began to recount the morning, starting with letting Evelyn and Joan take the wagon for the day. And then she talked about all the people she had met. And finally finished with the story of Isaac. She of course left out the use of miracles, being cognizant of their audience. But Crowley could fill in the gaps.

“You better be careful, Angel. Don’t want Gabriel coming by to tell you off for all the ‘frivolous’ miracles.” Crowley said to the angel in Enochian.

“Yes, I know dear, I have decided that I won’t use any more miracles today. We really don’t need them coming here and making a scene. And then I would have to explain what _you_ are doing here. I really don’t want to get into that sort of trouble.”

“Let’s just keep a low-profile Angel.”

“Yes, let’s.” Replied Aziraphale back in English. Emanuel had been trying to track what their conversation was about. He was not sure what language they were speaking. He himself knew a few, namely French, Latin, and Russian. But this didn’t sound like anything he was familiar with. Maybe it had been Welsh, he knew very little about that language and was really just grasping at straws.

Emanuel had been worried that Crowley was saying something about their conversation from early, but neither seemed to be paying him any attention. This eased his fears a little. But what could have been so important that they didn’t want him knowing about it?

“Oh, I had almost forgotten. Anthony dear, would you come _help_ me clean this wagon. It really is quite a mess, and I couldn’t do it while we were moving. Don’t want anyone getting sick from it.”

“Alright, but just this once Angel.” The two entities walked off, Emanuel entirely forgotten.

“You should step inside so it seems like you are actually cleaning it, I have done enough today that I think there are a few people who are beginning to get a little suspicious.”

“Yeah, yeah, _as you wish_.” Crowley stepped up into the wagon and miracled it clean, he then sat for a little bit while Aziraphale continued to talk to him from just outside. After what felt like a reasonable amount of time, Crowley climbed down from the wagon. The men who were going to be clearing the trail in the afternoon set off to begin their work. Everyone else began to repack and ready their wagons to move again. As much as Crowley detested being with this group, he had to admire the way all of these people could work together. They functioned like a fantastic machine, all knowing their place and job and getting to it.

Crowley and Aziraphale did not have any tasks for the afternoon so, they just walked alongside the wagons. Emanuel was busy making sure everything was running as it should so, they were uninterrupted. They spent the afternoon recounting their mornings in greater detail. And for a while, they walked in peaceful silence. By the time the group stopped again for the evening, they were both exhausted but felt content. Anyone that walked within a few feet of them might later remark to a friend that they had passed through a spot that seemed surreal. It was indescribable how suddenly the air around them had changed and they had not been sure for a second if they were still on Earth. Then the moment passed and they continued on.

They sat for supper with Evelyn and Joan again and were joined by Oscar and the kids. The women thanked Aziraphale profusely for allowing them to sit on their wagon for the day. And they remarked that they felt as good as new. The twins came up to Crowley and started babbling. One of them reached for Crowley’s glasses, but he moved away quickly enough to avoid the child’s grasp. He pulled another pair out from a pocket where there hadn’t been a pair before and handed it to the toddler. Aziraphale gave a soft smile as she watched this and then returned to talking with Joan.

Later that evening she suggested to Crowley that he read one of her books to some of the kids because, she insisted, he could do the voices so well. He relented and hoped that no one in Heaven nor Hell would hear about this. He accepted the book from Aziraphale, it was the story of _Robin Hood and his Merry Foresters_ by Joseph Cundall. As he began reading, the crowd of children grew around him. They were entranced by the story of a young heroic outlaw.

It was, Crowley considered, the perfect story for the two supernatural beings. A story of someone who did not abide by the law and actively went against the higher authorities. Robinhood hadn’t meant to become an outlaw, he had just acted against his superiors and was brutally punished for it. But in breaking the law, this character was a hero. He returned the wealth to the people that it had been wrangled from unjustly. It was really what meeting in the middle for the two entities was all about. They were not really on the side of good, but at the same time, could they really be in the wrong?

Crowley read through the first chapter before Aziraphale announced that was enough for the evening as it was getting late. Some of the kids had already fallen asleep and their parents had taken them back to their respective sleeping areas. It was time for the camp to retire for the evening, so Crowley and Aziraphale went back to their wagon. Like the night before, they both climbed into the back, and Crowley announced he was going to sleep again. It had been a long trying day and he never refused a chance to sleep.

Aziraphale was determined to stay up and read. But after a quarter of an hour, she felt the exhaustion of the day set in. Performing so many miracles, even if they were mostly minor, took a lot out of an angel. Especially if the angel was a little out of practice. Before she had the chance to give it much thought, she laid down next to the sleeping demon and let the peace of sleep wash over her.


	13. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aziraphale and Crowley make a list and dream of the world.

In the Wagon – Same Night – Midnight

They startled awake at midnight to the sound of someone banging on their wagon shouting, “Mr. Crowley, you’re on guard, git up!”

“What the Heavensss!” Hissed Crowley as he shot up. Unfortunately, Aziraphale shot up-right at the same time and they collided in the small space.

“Oh dear _Lord_.” Gasped Aziraphale, she was flustered to discover that she had fallen asleep. She was equally confused as to how she had ended up so close to the demon. They looked at one another in the tight space with startled expressions.

“What would your colleagues say if they saw us like this?” Murmured Crowley with a smirk. He fumbled for a pair of glasses before moving further away.

“Oh, you wily serpent.” Aziraphale smiled, “They would be aghast!”

“Hey, lovebirds, I would like a chance to sleep this evening, could you get a move on!” The man that had woke them up was growing impatient, it was about half-an-hour after when he was supposed to be off duty. But this newcomer had decided to laze about with his wife and not show up to switch out the guard.

“Forgot you and that Emanuel fellow talked me into this.” Said Crowley as he stepped out of the wagon and straightened his clothes.

“Yes well, I am terribly sorry about that, I thought at the time it would be good to give you something to do. Would you like me to accompany you? If not, I think I will just stay up and read.”

“Nah, ‘ts fine Angel. I’ll manage.” With that, Crowley allowed himself to be pointed in the direction of the other man that would be on guard till sunrise. Crowley then walked over to the other man who introduced himself as Alister. Alister explained that they just walked separately around and through the camp. If there was any trouble, they should blow the horn or signal for anyone nearby to help. They would blow the horn to officially get everyone up in about four hours and remained on guard until the camp was on the move again.

Alister seemed like a respectable young man who did not feel the need to talk constantly. Crowley never minded when Aziraphale prattled on for hours, but when the humans did it, it was irritating. They passed the next few hours without so much as a word. And when it was 4 a.m. Alister blew the horn to wake up the camp. Then they wandered about the camp to make sure everyone was awake and that there were no problems. Or at least that is what Alister did. Crowley skirted the edge and avoided everyone. Watching as the hive of travelers got to work.

He met back up with Aziraphale who had made coffee. And they walked about the outside of the camp together drinking their coffee. Aziraphale recounted the story she was reading to Crowley. It was part of Honoré de Balzac’s collection called _La Comédie Humaine._ She explained that she hoped as soon as their assignments were over, they would get the chance to go to France again.

“Why? Just to go eat crêpes and get captured again? If they’re still on about the Bastille, I’m not going back to get you again.”

“Oh Crowley, they are past that.” Aziraphale gave Crowley a quick glance and saw the fond smile on his face before it disappeared. “Anyway, it really is a fantastic time for literature there. I am hoping to go buy several first editions of various works, these novels and collections are truly fantastic. Foregoing any demonic interventions,” another quick cheeky glance at Crowley, “this will likely be the greatest century for la littérature française!”

“That’s a bit presumptuous, don’t you think Angel?”

“Nonsense my dear. If you would just read it you would understand.”

“Yeah, that’s not likely”

“Well, you really are missing out.”

“I’ll take your word for it, Angel. Plus, you know I never really liked the French, only went over there because you got yourself captured. Didn’t want you getting discorporated, that’d mean at least five years of dealing with the humans myself. And then you would get back and be a pain in my ass complaining all the _paperwork_.”

“Well, when we get back you ought to go with me. Keep me from getting captured by those rowdy Frenchmen again.”

“Might do, Angel.” Crowley responded softly.

They made their way back to the wagon because the men who were clearing the trail today had begun to head out. They still had to attach their oxen and make sure everything was packed up. Today they would both ride in the front of the wagon. Since they still had space in the back, Aziraphale offered to let some of the younger children ride back there with one of the young mothers to watch them. This gave several other mothers and fathers the chance to rest their backs for a while. Aziraphale made sure to bless them before they left their kids for the day and Crowley did nothing to impede this.

The wagons were in motion and they were set off for another long day. They were not at the end of the wagon train today. Emanuel had come by earlier to tell them it would be best to station them in the middle. Considering the way that Aziraphale had performed the previous day, Emanuel wanted to make sure she was easy to reach if there were any other medical problems.

Crowley was still tired and the sun felt nice. The oxen knew to follow the other carts and did not require much guidance. Aziraphale was holding the reins to handle them. So, Crowley stretched then leaned onto his angel’s shoulder. He took a deep calming breath that wasn’t required and settled there. As the wagon swayed forward, he was lulled to sleep.

Demons were not known to have dreams. It wasn’t a privilege provided to them in sleep. But a dreamless sleep was often escape enough for a demon. It took them away from the horrors of what they had been asked to do by Hell, and the outright horrors of Hell itself. Sometimes they might have nightmares. Depending on the demon, these might be considered dreams. In general though, demons, and their angelic counterparts, did not partake in sleep. But Crowley did. This was well known by Aziraphale, and well known by Hell. If it were up to his superiors, sleep would be banned, it gave him too much time off-the-clock. Crowley had been known to sleep for decades and the other demons would often wonder about this. But Crowley had never experienced a proper dream in all his years of sleeping.

Here, resting on the shoulder of an angel, Crowley had his first dream. He was in Morocco in approximately 500 B.C. Crowley had been there around that time, but unfortunately, Aziraphale had never made an appearance while he was stationed there. They had not known each other well at that point, but Crowley had always felt the angel would have loved it. It was a place filled with an incredible amount of diversity. They could have visited the cities and the angel would have tried some of the most exquisite food the world had to offer.

In Crowley’s dream, this is exactly what they were doing, they were working their way through the meandering streets of the ancient cities, which were, in that time, brand new. They admired the fantastic, handcrafted art that was irreplicable. They went into the markets and homes of the humans. They sat and listened to the stories of the humans’ ancestors. And they tried their food. With it being a multicultural land, there were always more dishes to try and unique stories to hear. Crowley had felt this was the epitome of what it meant to be human. When they were at peace there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

Eventually, his dream faded out and he fell back into a normal sleep. After another hour he woke up when Aziraphale nudged his shoulder and whispered his name.

“Crowley dear, it is noon and we are stopping to eat. You needn’t move but I have to get up.”

“Hmm.” Hummed the demon, “Ever been to Morocco Angel?”

“What?” Asked Aziraphale.

“Morocco, ever been there? They have some of the best food if I remember, and their artwork is something to behold.”

“Well yes, let’s see, I was there somewhere around 200 B.C. Heaven sent me with the Romans.”

“Ah. Should’ve known that was your lot,” said Crowley, waking up a bit more, “just like Heaven to go ruin a perfectly good civilization in the ‘ _name of the Lord_ ’ or some such nonsense. Should’ve seen it all before, it was magnificent.”

“Well I am sure it was all part of The Plan dear. I only accompanied the soldiers to protect them.”

“Ngk.”

“Anyway, when were you there?”

“About 500 B.C. came back after all the Roman stuff but it wasn’t the same.”

“So sorry my dear.”

“You’d‘ve loved it before though,” continued the demon, “we should go there sometime. It’s been too long.” Crowley trailed off, lost in the memory of his dream, Aziraphale had looked so happy there. He wished he could travel back in time with the angel just for that.

“Mmm, well, we are going to need a list at this rate.” Smiled Aziraphale. They were both lost in their own thoughts for a while before Aziraphale began moving again. “Well, I really best get down and fix some tea, would you like some dear?”

“Sure, tea’s lovely Angel.”


	14. Sickness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Sickness, Death (though not quite on that second one)  
> Please heed the warnings, nothing graphic but possibly unpleasant.   
> The camp experiences serious sickness for the first time and the two have a bit of a run-in with Death.   
> Aziraphale's pronouns change a bit in parts of the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please make note of the warnings above.   
> I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and reading back through it I had forgotten how much fun I had with it. I hope you all enjoy it as well.

Inside the Camp – A few Nights Later – 2 a.m.

They had gone a few days without any serious incidents. Crowley had been made to go clear the trails for an afternoon. Aziraphale had continued to walk amongst the travelers and heal as many ailments as discreetly as possible. Most of these were sore feet and aching backs. Others were malnutrition and dehydration. She was feeling good about their progress so far, and the camp seemed to be in high spirits. Crowley was getting used to the group and was even getting along with some of the humans. He often slept during the night and Aziraphale stayed up reading.

On this night she was just finishing an American romance novel when she heard someone near the wagon. It sounded as though they were stopping at every wagon they passed. And when they finally came around to their wagon, Aziraphale could see that it was Emanuel.

“Oh thank God, I wasn’t sure where you were. One of the guards just woke me up, a couple of the others are real’ sick. We’re not sure what is wrong yet but figured we’d let you know.” Emanuel said, out of breath since he had been hurrying through the camp.

“Ngk. Did I hear someone thanking God?” Mumbled Crowley sleepily in Enochian, “Bee’s not gonna be very happy bout this.” Crowley looked up at the angel, he didn’t currently have glasses on, and Aziraphale held his gaze.

“Oh hush dear, Emanuel has just come by asking for my assistance, there are a few people that got sick. I am going to go see if I can help.”

“Ha. _If_ you can help, why even bother going angel, ‘sss comfy here.” The demon said this as he tried to wrap himself around one of Aziraphale’s legs. Crowley was, to be fair, hardly awake. “Just miracle it from here, they won’t notisss.”

“I’m afraid that’s not really fair my dear. Now I am going to go help, do you want to come with me?”

Crowley thought this over for a moment, “Sssure, why not, nothing fun’sss happened in a few days.”

“This isn’t _fun,_ someone could be seriously ill.”

“Well you’re the one that asssked me along.”

“Yes, well alright.”

They both turned around and moved to exit the wagon until they saw the forgotten Emanuel. He was frozen in place with his mouth half-open.

With a puzzled look, Aziraphale asked, “Is everything alright? You look like you’ve just had quite the fright.”

“H-h-his EYES!” cried Emanuel.

“Ssshit.” Hissed Crowley. He quickly grabbed his glasses and shoved them on. Shouldn’t have ever taken them off, he thought, humans can’t ever stay in their place and keep out of his.

“Just an eye condition, trick of the light really, lamps make ‘em look all yellow. Sensitive to the light and all so have ta wear these.” Crowley tapped the edge of the glasses.

“Yes, yep, just an eye condition, nothing to get all worried over dear.” Aziraphale followed along with the demon’s reasoning, it wasn’t a lie she thought. It was a condition of sorts. She put on her best reassuring smile and stepped down from the wagon.

“B-but but it sounded like he was hissing.”

“Hissing? Oh dear me no, now that’s just silly. You’re just tired, I imagine you haven’t been getting enough sleep out here with people waking you up at all hours of the night.” Aziraphale patted his shoulder, “Now, I believe there is some poor soul in need of my attention.”

“Right, yes, of course.” If Ezra wasn’t worried then he had no reason to worry, right? Emanuel couldn’t tell you much about eye conditions. For all he knew maybe it was just an eye condition, couldn’t be helped. And maybe what he’d heard was a speech impediment. That could make sense, nothing to worry about. Anyway, there were bigger matters at hand.

“Just, um follow me.”

Aziraphale set the book she had been reading back in the wagon and followed Emanuel. She was shadowed by Crowley who kept inching closer to Emanuel. He could still feel the nervous energy coming from the man and didn’t want to let it go just yet. 

They reached a part of the camp where several people were sleeping in the grass. This particular camp had been used before by a previous group of pioneers. They had followed a trail that was fresh and therefore required little work to clear which meant they got in an extra couple of miles that day.

Emanuel led them to a group of travelers that all looked unwell. They did not really need to be led as both occult beings could sense the distress from several yards away. And anyone, occult or otherwise would have noticed that these people were not right.

“When I came by earlier there were only two people here, whatever it is it’s spreading. Don’t get too close.” Emanuel attempted to make this a command but was still wary of Crowley and therefore distracted.

Aziraphale did not heed to his remarks, she moved forward to crouch near one of the victims of this malady. She was beside a young lady, about 17 or 18 years old.

“Hello my dear,” she said reaching a hand out to touch the girl’s forehead. It was not too hot with fever, she tried to take some of the pain away. “how are you feeling?”

“It hurts,” replied the girl, “my stomach hurts, I have been nauseous and sick and it just keeps getting worse.”

Crowley came down by the angel and asked, “What do you think it is Zira?”

“I’m not sure yet, I’ve read some about these illnesses the people out here get. I need to ask the others for their symptoms to get a better picture.” She moved over to a middle-aged man who was curled around himself in pain.

“Hi there, my name’s Ezra and I am here to help. Could you just describe your symptoms for me so I can figure out how to help you all?” Aziraphale set a hand on this man’s shoulder and again attempted to take away some of the pain he was feeling. She knew that without healing, it was only temporary.

“Hurts,” moaned the man, “hurts like Hell. I think I’m gonna die, there ain’t no way back from this.”

Crowley looked about, nearly the entire camp was awake now. He noticed that there was an increasing smell of sick and wished he hadn’t decided to follow the angel. She would likely appreciate his presence though so he stayed put. He heard the sounds of a couple people being sick and felt their misery in the air. It would be any demon’s dream, any demon but Crowley that was.

“I think, Crowley dear, that this is cholera. Must be in the water nearby. From what I have read it spreads terribly fast and is often living in old campsites.”

“Didn’t know Pestilence was working the area. I thought they were about to retire. How bad is cholera anyway, Angel? Humans are resilient, it’ll pass right?”

“No Crowley, it is deadly, they don’t have a cure for it. If someone has it out here, they can usually assume they have one day to live, and it is agony.” The angel frowned while relaying this information to the demon. “It is some kind of bacteria, and if it was left by the last travelers here then many of them have likely already succumb to it. I am afraid it is too late for them but it may not be too late for these people.”

“But Angel, that is going to be a massive miracle.”

“Yes, I know dear but what other choice do I have?”

“None really, but is Heaven going to come after you for it? They aren’t ones for big miracles like this unless you’ve already revealed yourself. They only want the credit.”

“Well I can’t do that Crowley; you know I don’t like revealing myself.”

“Yeah, I know Angel.”

They sat in silence for a minute both contemplating what they were going to do. The camp was filled with a great agony that was only continuing to swell.

“I could do it,” Crowley spoke softly to the angel.

“What?”

“I said, I could do it.”

“But Crowley, won’t they,” Aziraphale motioned vaguely downwards, “disapprove. Surely you would get in trouble.”

“Yeah, but so would you. Plus, it’s not like they ever pay attention to what I am doing anyway. Several centuries of our Arrangement and they’ve never noticed a thing.”

“But this is a big one dear, surely they would notice.”

“Mm, no, you don’t know what it’s like down there Angel. It’d probably just get shuffled into a stack that won’t be looked at for another four centuries. Plus, what’ve I got to lose?” Crowley threw his hands up in a shrug.

“But surely Heaven wouldn’t mind, just this once.”

“Really Angel, compassion? From Heaven? Do you even remember the Ark? They wouldn’t even let you sneak a few kids to safety; you really think they’d let this one fly? If we’re both here then they probably think it’s part of some Plan and won’t want you interfering.”

Aziraphale thought this over, Crowley did have a point. If this was part of The Ineffable Plan like the Ark was then she’d never be allowed to perform such a miracle. She sighed and said, “Are you sure you are alright with doing this dear?”

“Just this once mind you, consider it part of the Arrangement, you owe me one.”

“Right, of course. How are we going to keep them from getting suspicious? Cholera always takes victims.”

“Same way I am keeping them from paying attention to us now.”

“Oh, oh dear, Crowley STOP that! You know I can’t meddle with their freewill! Let these poor people go!”

“Fine Angel.” Crowley waved his hand and suddenly everyone was again able to look in their direction and hear them.

Emanuel came over, not having realized he hadn’t been able to perceive Aziraphale and Crowley for several minutes. “Oh good, I wasn’t sure where you’d gone off to. We just keep getting more people in, any ideas of what it might be?”

“Cholera” grimaced the angel while looking around, several of the people were beginning to look a lot worse for wear. In the dim lantern light, Aziraphale could see how pale some were. They looked as though they hadn’t had anything to eat in days. Some of them looked as though they had died already but Aziraphale could perceive they were still clinging to life. They needed to act fast.

“Oh, dear Lord. Oh my _God._ It can’t be cholera. Are you sure? We can’t lose that many people!” Emanuel was in a growing panic, he thankfully still looked healthy.

“God’s got nothing to do with this,” mumbled Crowley, then he added, “probably.” If this was indeed a part of the Ineffable Plan then he supposed it was Her doing.

“Yes, but Anthony has studied cholera and might just have something to help. Isn’t that right dear?”

Crowley gave the angel a puzzled look, this was not what he was expecting to do. He never liked making a show of the miracles, just did them and moved on. Shows were for demonic events, not heavenly ones. “Uh right, yeah, sure. Got a great thing for it, just um, in the wagon. They’ll be better in a jiffy.”

Emanuel looked skeptical. Anthony didn’t seem like one to study illnesses in his spare time, and he certainly didn’t seem like one to work up life-saving treatments for them. Plus, what kind of new phrase was ‘in a jiffy’ anyway. Sounded like a lot of nonsense if you asked Emanuel.

“Well, Godspeed then.” Replied Emanuel.

“Nope.” Said the demon as he turned to walk back to the wagon trailed by Aziraphale.

When they reached the wagon, he turned swiftly to the angel. “Why’d you have to go and tell them _I_ have something for it! Now they’re all going to be thanking me and that might draw some _unwanted_ attention.”

“If a miracle this big doesn’t draw attention I hardly think a few humans thanking you will.” Huffed Aziraphale.

“Yeah alright, fine. I just don’t like it, ‘s all.”

“Well, it is good to receive thanks for your work.”

“That’s just the problem, isn’t it? It is good, might I dunno, burn me or something.”

“No need to be so dramatic my dear.” Aziraphale pat Crowley’s shoulder while saying this.

At the same moment, Crowley froze. The angel jumped and quickly withdrew her hand. “Oh my dear, I am so sorry! Did I actually burn you? Oh, I’ll NEVER forgive myself.”

“Hush Angel,” the demon hissed sharply, “do you feel that?”

The angel, who was now dramatically covering her eyes peeked through her fingers at Crowley. “Feel what dear?”

“He’s here.”

“Who’s…” Aziraphale trailed off as she felt it too. The air felt dry but with a suffocating dampness. It was silent but the noise was too loud. There was a chill in the air that sank so deep into the entities’ bodies that it was inescapable.

“Angel, go distract him.”

“What? No! I can’t stand in his way, he’s one of us dear, just doing his job.”

“Yeah well, I am just doing _your_ job, so be flexible. Work with me here. Plans can change, right? Just go distract him.”

The angel looked about for more to say but came up short. “Alright fine, but if this doesn’t work and I get discorporated, that’s on you. Then when I get back, I get to complain about the paperwork without you whining about it.”

“You won’t get discorporated Angel. Just _GO_.”

“Alright fine.” Huffed the angel, and then she was gone, into the next plane of existence. Everything looked the same. Aziraphale could still see Crowley as he hurried back to the humans with his ‘magic cure-all’. But the angel could not hear the conversations. Aziraphale was back into their original form, as jumping planes of reality made it hard to keep track of one’s appearance. It wasn’t the first thing on their mind certainly. But Aziraphale quickly shifted back into the more comfortable and familiar human form. They noticed the new presence that had brought them here. It was Death.

“Uh, hello.”

The figure remained silent, waiting in the last few moments.

Aziraphale shifted and tried again, a bit louder, “Um hello there. I know you can hear me.”

“Aziraphale, it has been a while.”

“Yes, well you know, busy, busy. Um what brings you here?” the angel asked, knowing it was a less than intelligent question.

“I am always here.”

“Yes, yes, right, well I knew that. Um, I guess I just meant, here here. And now?”

“That one,” Death pointed, “has called me.”

Aziraphale looked at the pale desperate human form before them. Stall, they had to stall. “Well, it’s just that, I don’t think that poor human meant to call you. I do think there has been a mistake. You know the human form, ever so dramatic, one minute they think they are taking their last breath, the next they are good as new. Silly old things they are.”

“I don’t make mistakes Aziraphale.”

“Well, no, of course not. I just think that the human may have been the one to make the mistake. Not you of course, I never meant to suggest… Well, anyway, if we could just wait a little while longer. The humans will be on the up-and-up any minute now.” Aziraphale tried to sound excited about this but wasn’t entirely confident. Death did not yet have his grasp on any of the humans but if he set to it there would be nothing Aziraphale could do. No one to bargain with.

“I am only waiting for them.” Replied Death hauntingly.

“While we wait then, do you suppose you could explain your job to me? I know what you do of course, but how does it work?” Inquired the angel, they tried to sound as though this were an ordinary conversation and that they genuinely wanted to know about Death’s job.

Death remained silent and continued to watch the humans.

Aziraphale shifted again uneasily. “So um, do you take them all the way to their respective resting places? I imagine that must be quite exhausting, what with so many of them. You must want to take a break. I am sure these ones are all bound for Heaven, surely _I_ could handle them. You can leave it to me, I am a Principality after all.”

“No.”

Aziraphale swallowed, out of habit, then realized they couldn’t swallow here. It felt wrong, and they were growing more nervous. Death was expressionless and did not seem prepared to elaborate on any of his responses.

Aziraphale stood, watching with Death for a moment longer. It may have been only a few seconds but it could have been, just as easily, an eternity. Death turned to the angel and said, “Goodbye Aziraphale,” and was then, in the next moment, gone.

When Aziraphale looked back down at the camp, they saw Crowley and felt the demon wink at them behind his tinted glasses. Just as swallowing had been impossible, blushing was also a function of the humans that was supposed to be impossible in this plane. But for an embarrassed and proud angel, those rules did not seem to apply any longer. As the demon winked, Aziraphale blushed and gave a small warm smile. Crowley must have been able to feel his angel’s smile because he smirked in return. Aziraphale then turned to move back into the wagon to exit the plane without being seen by the humans.

The angel fell back into her earthly form and exited the wagon. She hurried to Crowley’s side, passing through the sea of sick, but now recovering, humans.

“Good job Angel, knew you had it in you.”

“Yes well, he had other places to be. You know him, busy as ever. Couldn’t expect him to stand about waiting all day?”

“Who’s that?” asked Emanuel, coming between the angel and demon.

“Oh, um… er, no one really.“ Stammered Aziraphale. Crowley continued to look at the angel with a fond gaze, while Emanuel stood cluelessly in the middle.

“Right, well um, Anthony.” He turned to face the demon who quickly schooled his expression to the typical hard gaze he reserved for Emanuel. “Whatever that is, seems to be working.”

“Yup, course it is Manny,” said Crowley with a smug expression.

Emanuel shifted away and gave the demon his best scowl, “It’s Emanuel, only my family calls me Manny. And what is this miracle concoction you’ve got? I didn’t see it in your wagon on the first day.”

“Just that.” Responded Crowley with an air of finality. It was a miracle concoction to the T, so Crowley did not see any cause to elaborate.

“What?” Asked Emanuel.

“Well, I think what he means,” Aziraphale jumped in, “is that it is a secret. He doesn’t want to go giving away what it is, someone would try to claim it as their own if he did.”

“Right… okay well, I am just going to make sure we get enough boiled water out to the people who are feeling better. Ezra, would you like to help me with that?”

“I would be delighted” replied the angel with enthusiasm. She followed Emanuel to distribute the water. Crowley scowled after Emanuel but turned to get back to healing the people around him. No one was going to die on his watch. Certainly not with the angel around, she would be very cross if he let that happen. So, he took care to look after each and every soul here.


	15. The Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the camp is healed, the two spend a peaceful day with one another as the group recovers. Basically just domestic fluff!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't edit this chapter super carefully because I am a bit crunched for time today. If there are any super big problems, please let me know :)  
> Also, my tumblr is sherlockruiningmylife, so you can find me there if you'd like. I will be taking a break with this story after a few more chapters. Basically when they get to the settlement I will pause the story.

Inside the Camp – Same Day – 10 a.m.

Amos had decided to keep the camp there for another day to let the sick recover. He, Micah, and Emanuel had discussed it and it was agreed upon unanimously. The day was reserved for resting and this is exactly what all those who had been ill did. Most of the others took the opportunity to sleep a few extra hours then work on repairs to the carts and supplies. This was not something they often got the chance to do if they weren’t deemed absolutely necessary.

Crowley was swarmed with the other travelers and tried to ward them off as best possible. Initially, he was flooded with well-meaning people saying, “Oh bless you, you are a Godsend.”

To which he tried to reply, “No please don’t, and try again.”

Everyone ignored his comments and continued their praise so eventually, he gave up. He had been hoping to use the day to sleep like many of the humans were but being surrounded at every turn made this difficult. It reminded him of when he had once been sent to pose as a deity and eventually settled with the feeling of idol worship. While most of them were thanking God in some way or another, they were still praising him. That had to count for something, surely.

Aziraphale was off around the camp in the morning. She had a daily routine of small miracles and blessings to complete. But when she met her quota she stopped. There was no sense in getting ridiculed by Gabriel over healing sore feet.

She gathered several of the children with her as she went. By the time she returned to Crowley, she had with her all of the children who hadn’t been sick. She even had several of those who had. She sat them down in the shade of a lone tree, promising them a story. When she pulled Crowley over, she handed him the Robin Hood story he had read from a few times and insisted he finish reading to the children.

As Crowley read the children cheered for Robin Hood and his Merry Men. They loved Little John and Friar Tuck. They laughed and sat wrapped in the story. When the Sheriff of Nottingham tried to bring Robin Hood in, the children booed. It was a joyous event that overshadowed the night’s horrors.

Aziraphale sat watching Crowley as he read. She was as entranced as the children, if only for a different reason entirely. The day passed peacefully and when the story was over the children went to play. The two immortal beings sat and watched as the kids imagined that they were a band of outlaws in Sherwood Forest. They picked up twigs that were, to their imaginations, quarterstaffs. They appointed someone to be Prince John and the Sheriff who reluctantly filled their roles. They of course had a Lady Marian and a Robin Hood. There was a slight scuffle that Aziraphale had to settle over who got to be Robin Hood.

As the two watched, they once again wished they could freeze time. If eternity could be this peaceful, it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Maybe you could write this off as your ‘band of outlaws’ dear.” Said Aziraphale smiling at Crowley.

“Yeah, what a fearsome lot they are. Certainly a match for the demons of Hell.”

“Hm. Yes.” Hummed the angel as she rest against the demon’s side.

They sat this way for a while until the sun was setting. The kids had all returned to the camp for supper. But Aziraphale and Crowley remained where they were. They did not talk much, just enjoying one another’s presence. They watched the sunset over the hills and longed for eternity to pass them by.

It was about eight o’clock when Aziraphale stirred and announced she would like to eat some supper. Crowley stood and reached for the angel’s hand. She took it willingly and they walked side-by-side back to the camp.

It seemed that they had both become quite popular over the past few days. And now that Crowley had saved half of the camp, they were both in high demand. They rarely showed affection to one another seeing as their relationship was not what the human’s assumed it was. The two ordinarily showed knowing glances and what passed as entire conversations without uttering a word. Something that most couples never achieved.

In many ways, their relationship was deeper and more meaningful than any human couple could hope to achieve. This did not go unnoticed, no matter where they were or who they pretended to be. The humans had a knack for seeing the depth and complexity of the entities’ relationship, even if they did not have the capacity to understand it for what it was.

As they entered the camp with their hands entwined, everyone’s attention was caught. The travelers expected to see this kind of display of affection. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that even the most devoted spouse envied the relationship between the angel and the demon. There was a sense of _Jealousy_ in the air as they were watched by the others. Crowley did not notice it right away because it was a comfortable feeling for a demon. But Aziraphale paused, she looked around at all the faces that quickly turned their gaze. Then she looked at Crowley.

“Do you feel that dear?” The angel whispered.

“Feel what?” Crowley returned, matching Aziraphale’s low voice.

“They are, correct me if I am mistaken, all quite jealous.” She was only a few inches from the demon as she said this.

“Really?” Crowley smirked and raised an eyebrow. He looked smug and proud. “Mm, I feel that now, feels nice doesn’t it Angel?” His voice was so low it was almost a purr.

Aziraphale was blushing a deep red, she focused on the feeling. Knowing it was directed at them did make it feel nice. It felt so good that she lost her composure and acted on an impulse that she had kept in control for nearly six thousand years.

She leaned in slowly to the demon whose smug expression faltered as he carefully asked, “Angel?”

Before he could say more, Aziraphale kissed Crowley as she had wanted to for millennia.

It was a gentle and timid kiss. Just the brush of soft angel’s lips against the demon’s. But there was no mistaking it for anything other than a kiss.

Crowley could feel the angel’s hesitation as soon as she initiated it. It caught him off-guard and he didn’t respond. The angel had shut her eyes and Crowley noticed how her eyelids delicately fluttered as she moved.

The demon looked up and noticed Emanuel. He focused in on him for a second and could feel the jealousy burning him from the inside out. As the angel opened her eyes and was about to pull away from the demon, Crowley responded, spurred on by the knowledge of their audience.

He poured as much longing as he could into the kiss in return. Aziraphale, having been a second away from apologizing profusely to Crowley, was stunned. Her eyes were locked with Crowley’s through the glasses. She wanted nothing more than to get rid of the barrier and see the demon’s beautiful eyes.

Crowley was not as gentle or timid in his kiss. He pressed his entire body flush with the angel’s and pulled her in close. After a moment they both shut their eyes and explored one another’s mouth.

Crowley could taste the tea on the angel’s lips from earlier in the day. It had been a fragrant tea and the memory of it on the angel made Crowley conjure the smell. As the angel noticed the homely smell of tea in the air she smiled into the demon’s mouth. As she smiled Crowley took the opportunity to sneak out his tongue. It was the briefest of flickers as if searching for another scent but it made the angel gasp. Aziraphale opened her mouth and Crowley came back. This time the taste of the angel’s mouth was so intense that Crowley lost himself in it.

Both beings were wrapped up in one another and lost to their company. One of the travelers whistled lowly while others gasped or simply stared. The air in the entire camp felt electric. Emanuel had remembered the feeling of static from a few days ago and the fear that he was going to be struck down on the spot. Now, the air was so charged that he fancied he could see actual sparks in it. Someone had to disrupt the two, after all, there were children watching! But Emanuel did not dare approach them, lest they be the source of the electricity. It seemed a wild and impossible idea, but he wasn’t going to take that chance.

Instead, he picked up an unopened bag of coffee and tossed it in their direction. It brushed against Ezra’s dress and it was thankfully enough to catch her attention. The couple before him broke apart and both turned their gazes to him. Suddenly he felt less confident. Maybe Emanuel should have just moved the rest of the camp and left the two alone. Anthony met his eye with a dangerous and threatening smirk that made the hairs stand up on his body. And Ezra looked mildly off-put and disappointed.

“Um… can’t stop you from doing _that_ ,” Emanuel waved his hand in their direction, “seeing as you’re married and all, nothing against the rules. But, um… do you mind? You’re in the middle of the camp, there’s children here.” Emanuel pointed to a small group of kids who feigned innocence to the events going on around them.

“Why’d ya’ throw that?” Asked Crowley in an amused tone. He was looking towards the coffee at the angel’s feet.

“Uhh… Well I… um… You weren’t responding to anything we said.” Tried Emanuel.

“Right. And so, you throw something at us because that’s the next logical step?”

“Um, well, yes?” Emanuel paused and watched Ezra pick up the bag of coffee. Feeling guilty he continued, “Or, maybe not? I don’t know, just didn’t want to get too close…” He trailed off. Why had he said that, it sounded ridiculous. Even to his ears.

Anthony was giving him a large toothy grin now. It made him feel uneasy in a new way, if such a thing were possible.

“I am so sorry everyone, didn’t mean to put on such a silly show for you all. You really must excuse us. It was so impolite.” Aziraphale was blushing, but she could not find it in her to make the apology sound truly convincing. She passed the coffee back to Emanuel who was also blushing at having been put on the spot by Crowley. Then she turned back to Crowley, “Dear, I am starving, I think we should let these poor people be and go make some supper.”

“Fine Angel.” Huffed the demon, they had lost the attention of the others now who all turned back to their fires. There was a lot of whispering and several quick glances, but the bulk of the attention had turned back to other matters. It was only Emanuel who seemed to not know what to do with himself. But Crowley didn’t mind this. He began to wonder if they could convince the camp the next day that what they saw was nothing more than a mass fevered hallucination. He knew it was unlikely but was set on trying anyway.

The newly unearthed emotions were apparently not entirely gone. The angel grabbed the demon’s hand to usher him back to the wagon for the evening meal. This was now, the main thing on Aziraphale’s mind. But many of the onlookers seemed to believe otherwise. As they passed by, Crowley caught several people winking at them. Some gave ‘knowing looks’ and one of the older teenagers gave them a thumbs-up and smug smile. Crowley did his best to glare initially. But quickly realized that wasn’t working, so started playing up the act. He walked behind the angel with a pride and confidence that he did not really feel. But knew he could play this part well.


	16. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aziraphale tries to apologize, Crowley is just plain annoying.

In the Wagon – Same Day – 10 p.m.

Aziraphale had made an evening meal for the both of them while Crowley opened some of their alcohol and poured them each a generous amount. They settled just outside the wagon to eat and drink. It was an easy and comfortable routine to fall into.

After they finished their meal and were well into the alcohol, Crowley decided to address the elephant in the room. Or maybe it was in the wagon. Or maybe the air?

“So,” Crowley drawled the word, “are we gonna talk about any of that?”

Aziraphale had been doing her best to avoid this conversation. She blushed in response and said, “If we must. But I really don’t see what there is to talk about dear. After all, we are married. It is a completely natural thing for the humans at any rate.”

“Yeah, but Angel, we’re not really married.” Crowley paused, then added, “And we’re not human.”

“But we are pretending to be. We don’t have to do that again dear. I should have asked first anyway, but I think they are thoroughly convinced so we won’t have to repeat that.” Aziraphale rambled off her thoughts, trying to look innocent and remorseful at the same time.

“Oh, I didn’t say that Angel.” Crowley raised his eyebrows. “At any rate, knocked off five of the deadly sins if you count this imbibing to be gluttony.”

Was Crowley teasing her? Just trying to get a rise out of her? Aziraphale couldn’t tell but she was NOT going to take the bait. “As I said, nothing sinful about a kiss between a married couple. No deadly sins committed, nothing to worry about. Won’t happen again, especially when you are so determined to be indecorous.”

“Oh, come on Angel, you started it. Don’t need to be so churlish about it.” Crowley pouted, though Aziraphale was unconvinced.

“Let’s just leave it, shall we?”

“Fine.” Huffed the demon.

After a moment of silence and more to drink, their conversation fell back into their comfortable familiarity. They talked until the horn was blown to wake the camp up. The camp would make more progress today since they had been able to rest and recover the previous day. As the travelers came to wakefulness, the demon and the angel moved to pack up their wagon again. They had drunk a substantial amount of alcohol through the night and were still quite tipsy. As the sun began to appear on the horizon, they both found it necessary to sober up if they were going to survive the day.

As Aziraphale became sober, she began to feel guilty about the previous day. For the most part, she had managed to keep this guilt at bay through the consumption of alcohol. But now it all hit her at once.

“Oh dear,” she murmured, “we were terribly rude to that poor Emanuel, weren’t we?”

“What?” Crowley was trying to put together when exactly the angel was referring to. He himself made it a point to be impertinent to the man. Realizing quickly what the angel meant he continued, “Nah. We weren’t rude, he _threw_ something at _you!_ So really, he deserved worse.”

“Well, I do think he felt threatened so I am not going to hold that against him.” Crowley gave a toothy grin as the angel mentioned that Emanuel had been threatened by their display.

Aziraphale continued, “I am going to go find him, I think we both owe him an apology.”

Crowley’s grin was gone in an instant, “ _What?_ I don’t owe him anything Angel. You can go apologize if you must but you won’t hear a word from me!”

Aziraphale gave the demon a stern look and wandered off into the camp to find Emanuel. Crowley didn’t know what to do, so he resorted to the reliable mischief-making he was accustomed to. As people wandered by, he cursed them with unscratchable itches, hiccups that just wouldn’t go away, or a song that would NOT leave their head. He had done enough _good_ for them as it was, seeing as he saved a large number of them from certain Death.

Much to his indignation, Crowley saw his angel making her way through the camp with, none other than, Emanuel. Crowley sighed and tried his best to look uninterested. He lounged back against the wagon and put his spurred boot up against the side. He assumed the position he had seen in the drawings of the ‘American Cowboy’ that he had glimpsed the last time they were in a city. He did think it was a good look and considered changing to it when they got to the settlement.

“What can I do for you two?” Crowley asked.

“Oh Crowley dear, you know why I brought Emanuel over here. So please drop the act.”

“What act Angel? I am just standing here, was starting to get bored. Seems like everyone is feeling a little _uneasy_ this morning.”

“What did you do Crowley!”

“Nothing.”

Aziraphale gave an exasperated sigh and looked around. People did look a little restless and uneasy around the demon but she couldn’t tell what he had done so she glared but left them to suffer for a while longer.

“Dear, please just apologize to Emanuel.”

“Nah.”

“That wasn’t an option.” Replied the angel testily.

“Whatcha going to do ‘bout it Angel?” Crowley smirked.

Emanuel had been surprised when Ezra had come to apologize to him. He wasn’t not expecting any sort of apology and felt that he himself ought to be the one to say sorry. What had he been thinking, throwing something at a woman? That was no way to conduct oneself. So he had apologized to Ezra in return but she waved it off. She had then explained that Anthony had something to say too. This was certainly not something that Emanuel could believe but he followed Ezra mostly out of curiosity. If Anthony uttered the word ‘sorry’ in any form, he would be truly surprised. Apparently, there was more to their relationship than he had previously gathered.

His hopes of hearing Anthony apologize were diminishing quickly though. As he did not really expect it or want it from the man. He cut into the couple’s bickering, “Um. It really is not a problem. I appreciated your apology Ezra, and as I said, I feel awful about throwing something at you. Don’t know why I did that, was a bit out of my mind. But Anthony does not need to apologize, I don’t really mind.”

“See Angel, he gets it, we did nothing wrong. You said so yourself last night.”

“You wily serpent, you had me convinced we committed at least five sins. You can’t just change your mind when it suits you.”

Crowley gave a look that indicated something along the lines of, “I’m a demon, remember?”

Emanuel did not really want to know about any of the supposed ‘sins’ they had committed. And he was feeling more and more like this conversation had nothing to do with him.

“Really, it is not an issue. I have, um… matters to attend to so I really should be on my way.”

“No, dear, _Anthony_ ,” Ezra levelled a fierce gaze at Anthony with this, “will apologize. Isn’t that right dear?”

Something in the look Ezra gave Anthony must have done something. Mr. Crowley pushed himself off of the wagon and walked closer. Emanuel did not feel intimidated for once and he believed that the man was actually about to give an apology. At the last second, Anthony opened his mouth, turned swiftly to Ezra, gave her a teasing kiss on the cheek and said, “Nah.” Then wandered off into the camp.

Ezra just stood with her mouth open. She was evidently not expecting this either. It seemed their domestic was not yet over. Emanuel shrugged and noted that his presence was no longer required so he made his way back to the front to help some of the men get ready.

Aziraphale was slightly stunned that she had been kissed again. If she were honest, she was also a little disappointed that it was only a kiss on the cheek. But she was also furious. Not with a righteous fury, just with a low-grade simmering fury that the demon had refused to do one simple thing. She had only asked for him to say sorry, how hard could that be. For a stubborn demon, the answer was _very_.

Crowley wasn’t sure where to walk but he wanted to avoid the angel for the time being. He knew his angel and knew that she would be a little upset right now. But that he hadn’t crossed any major lines so given a little time, she would forgive it and move on.

Crowley made it to the front of the camp and seeing some of the men getting ready to clear the trail made the perfect excuse to get away for a while. He was supposed to be doing this job tomorrow but he saw one of the men who had been ill with cholera. So, he used this to volunteer a shift change with him. This way Crowley could let the angel get distracted for a while before he went to talk to her again. And he would have a story of charity in case she hadn’t forgiven him yet.

The man was more than happy to switch places with Crowley and thanked him profusely. The demon tried to usher him along as quickly as possible then turned to the others and said, “How ‘bout it boys, let’s get this train moving!”

All the other men had been around Mr. Crowley enough by now to understand that he dreaded the days he had to work. They gave one another sideways glances that indicated their confusion. But no one was going to look a gift-horse in the mouth. If Mr. Crowley was going to enthusiastically get to work, you weren’t going to see them complaining. Especially since they found that when he actually did the work, he did it with remarkable ease and speed.

They set out to begin the day with Anthony J. Crowley leading the group. Everyone was in high spirits and it was set to be a gorgeous day.


	17. Horses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emanuel and Aziraphale talk, Emanuel likes to stick his nose where it doesn't belong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of rambling about nothing to suddenly make the angel think fondly of the demon. In other words, same ol' same ol' :)

Same Place (roughly) – Same Time (also roughly)

Aziraphale had stood in place for several minutes. She only moved when Joan came up and asked if she was alright.

“It’s just that you look a bit upset is all,” explained Joan after the angel had given her a perplexed look. “I know it’s none of my business but if you need anything let me know.”

“Oh, well thank you my dear.” Replied Aziraphale sweetly. “I am quite alright, and that is very kind of you.” She smiled warmly and it seemed to have convinced Joan.

“Alright, well you know where to find me if you need anything.” She waved and wandered back to her sister.

Aziraphale was now realizing that she had never responded to Emanuel after Crowley left. She looked around for him and began to worry that she would owe him another apology. Crowley was always easy to find. Visually, he stood out amongst even the largest crowds. But even internally, Aziraphale could always give a rough pinpoint on his location. Some random human though? That was a bit trickier. The angel was not familiar enough with Emanuel to easily find him, so she had to rely on looking around like a human would.

After a while, she found him tying up an ox to one of the wagons. She called out to him and he turned his head. He looked surprised so she figured he was not anticipating this apology, just as he hadn’t expected the first one. Aziraphale still felt that this was warranted, if only for her own peace of mind as an ‘angel of the Lord’, so she continued along her trajectory.

“Emanuel, I am so sorry. Please do forgive me, I am rather afraid I may have made things worse.”

“As I said before, you don’t need to apologize for anything. And to be honest, I certainly wasn’t expecting anything from Anthony, so no harm done. Are you alright though? I think if anyone should be apologizing, it should be Anthony. That was no way to treat someone, especially not you.”

“Well yes, he was rather rude. And that old snake makes me so furious sometimes. But you deserve an apology too dear.”

“Ha. Well calling him a snake seems a little harsh. Thank you for considering me though, Ezra.” Emanuel had a slight hint of pink on his cheeks. Since the sun was not yet up, this was hidden in the relative darkness of the camp.

“Well, now that that’s settled, is there anything I can help you with? I don’t know where Anthony has got himself off to so I have no company for the time being it seems.”

Emanuel could not tell what Ezra was getting at. Was she simply just wanting company? Was she under the impression that she needed to continue to apologize? Did she want to get back at Anthony somehow? Or could she even just want to spend time with Emanuel?

Emanuel was wishing for the later but did not want to get his hopes up too much. “Well, I was planning on riding one of the horses today. It’s better for getting to people when needed than walking. We could find you a horse and you could ride along with me if you like?”

This may have been asking too much of Ezra. She probably had other things she needed to do as it was. He began to doubt his suggestion and tried to quickly defend it, “I mean, that’s only if you aren’t already busy. Might be good for you to be available today anyway since people are still recovering.”

Ezra really was not fond of riding _on_ horses. She still felt they were better than trains or other forms of locomotion. But she just wasn’t too keen on actually riding on them. Seeing though as she had been the one to ask if Emanuel needed help. And that he had provided a reason she could not justly refuse. She agreed.

Emanuel noticed the apprehensive look on Ezra’s face and was going to insist that she really did not have to go. But the features of her face shifted quickly from apprehension to the hard set of a mind made up. He walked with her to the horses and asked if she would like help onto one.

“Oh no, I have ridden a horse before. I think I can manage dear.” This was all true. She had been riding horses, camels, elephants, donkeys, and occasionally a few other animals for millennia. It was not the getting onto the horse or the riding of it that would be new. Instead it was that she had never ridden one in a dress. She got up onto the horse with relative ease. All grace was lost though as her leg got caught in the hem of her skirt and she went tumbling down the other side. Emanuel rushed around to the other side of the horse to help. Aziraphale was thoroughly embarrassed so she did her best to wave him away. She was an angel after all. Getting on a horse should be the least of her problems. Accepting help from a _human_ would have made the matter even more humiliating. She got up, dusted off her dress, and tried again.

Emanuel stood by watching. He desperately wanted to be of some sort of assistance to the woman but she had refused his help so he stood by. He remained close in case she changed her mind but let her try again. Emanuel wondered briefly if Ezra had ridden a horse before. She seemed like the sort that may have pranced around in a lavish lawn on one while growing up. That she had been taught for show but not any actual purpose. As he considered this, she made it onto the horse successfully on the second attempt. Then adjusted herself to sit in the least lady-like fashion Emanuel had ever seen. On second thought, maybe she had never been taught. Or, more likely, had just been too stubborn to teach. He climbed up onto his horse then, and they began to move along the caravan as they set off for the day.

Sometime later, Emanuel decided Ezra looked more comfortable on the animal and began an attempt at conversation. “So, you ever rode a horse before this?”

“Hm? Oh, yes. Many times, too many to count.”

Emanuel found this hard to believe, “Really? When did you learn to ride? You mentioned that you lived in London before coming here, did you grow up outside of the city?”

Aziraphale was silent for a moment. She was used to assumptions of her humanity but had never learned how to quickly work her way out of them. Being an angel, she wasn’t supposed to lie. This didn’t mean that she did not lie, but she tried to avoid it, sometimes.

“Well, yes. I first existed far from any city,” she began, selecting her words with care, “I guess you could say I was raised there but that may not be the most pertinent term. I didn’t ride any animals until a while into this life though. I wasn’t around the first people to think of it and I wasn’t too keen on it when I met people who were doing so.” Aziraphale reflected on the first time she had been to the region that was now Mongolia. People had started riding horses pretty early on there. But she didn’t get there until a couple hundred years after they had started. She refused to ride them for a long while, but quickly began to realize that they were not going to go back into the wild. And that she really better get used to them now.

“What were people doing where you were raised if they weren’t riding horses?”

Aziraphale knew she couldn’t say that they were simply existing outside the physical realm where movement as humans understood it wasn’t required. She also knew that flying was not an appropriate response, so she resorted to, “just walking. Much simpler that way.”

“Hm,” mused Emanuel, “well I suppose the tried and true methods can never really hurt ya too much. What about Anthony, does he ride often?”

This question was met with genuine laughter. Ezra was chuckling as if she had heard a good joke. Emanuel wasn’t really sure what was so amusing about the simple question but couldn’t help a small smile at his company’s mirth.

“Goodness me, no! He hates riding horses. They get quite skittish around him anyway so their feelings are mutual. But no, he doesn’t ride. He probably wouldn’t even know how to get on one, that silly old serpent.” At the mental image of the demon trying to slither his way onto a saddle, Aziraphale began her low chuckling again. She was trying to contain her laughter but just couldn’t quite shake it.

Emanuel was glad to see Ezra back in a good mood. She seemed to be talking quite openly now so he decided to try and pry a little. “Forgive me if I am over-stepping, but you seem to use a lot of words about snakes when discussing Anthony. And I’ve seen the tattoo on his face,” bit risqué if you asked Emanuel, “is he fond of snakes or something?”

“You could say that I suppose.”

Well, so much for Ezra’s free-flowing speech. That seemed to Emanuel like all the more he was going to get on the matter so he dropped it. After a moment he asked, “So, how did you and Anthony meet? Again, I do hope I am not over-stepping, it’s just that I find it hard to imagine the both of you being in the same place and finding common ground.”

“Yes, we are quite different, I’ll grant you that dear.” Ezra gave a small smile, she did not seem offended by the comment and began her story, “We met in a garden long-ago. We were the only two left in the garden as the other occupants had taken their leave. Crowley,” Aziraphale forgot who she was talking to while wrapped in the memory and Emanuel noticed the change in name, “is the one that approached me. He really made me quite worried that I had done something wrong, the trickster. We met several times by chance after that, went out and got oysters and crêpes. Not at the same time mind you, that would have been horrendous. Eventually, we became friends, I suppose. At least we were no longer adversaries, not really. Formed our own side as Crowley likes to insist.” She drew a breath and looked lost and confused. Emanuel wanted to ask if she was alright but was not confident that any words would be welcome. So he waited. After a few moments more, Ezra shook her head minutely and looked at Emanuel, “Oh well, you don’t really want to hear about all that I am sure. We have a long and complicated history; I won’t bother you with anymore.”

The more that Emanuel heard from Ezra, the more worried he grew. She had called them adversaries. How could you marry an enemy? Even if they were now a friend. And to be _just_ a friend to your spouse did not sound like a comfortable and rewarding marriage. Though he did suppose it was more that many married couples could hope for. But for a romantic like Ezra, he had expected more.

Emanuel also thought about how Ezra had called her husband Crowley again. What did this mean about their relationship? If they were truly amiable with one another, then how could Ezra still call Anthony by his last name? He did not have much to go on yet, but Emanuel was worried for Ezra, as he had been since the day they met. He decided then and there that when they took their leave from the caravan, he would offer to go with them. For curiosity’s sake at the least. He had never met anyone quite like Ezra and was not ready to see her go.

“It really isn’t a bother,” responded Emanuel, “but if you don’t want to talk about it any longer that’s fine. You could tell me more about your bookshop,” he suggested this hoping to glean more about Anthony in the process, but also genuinely wanting to know more about Ezra’s pride and joy. Last time she had discussed it, she had been nearly radiant with enthusiasm. Emanuel had felt a sense of warmth and comfort while she had talked.

Ezra immediately obliged and began discussing her collection of rare books. She explained various aspects of her collection and how she had come about collecting them. Ezra told Emanuel about the books written in all manner of different tongues. Emanuel marveled at how brilliant she was, mentally and physically. It seemed as though there were a light about her, but Emanuel rationalized it to being a reflection of the morning sun. As she talked about her shop, he could feel what he could only describe as love in the air. Emanuel knew he was in over his head, but just couldn’t find it in him to care. He smiled and tried to beam back at Ezra but did not feel like he could ever match the energy coming from the woman beside him.

Aziraphale was so glad to tell a human about her shop. She yearned to be back there among the old and new books alike. She wished she could stand at the counter reading one of her ancient texts in Hebrew, Gaelic, or Farsi. She wanted to hear the chime of the bell and look up to see Crowley coming in with a bottle of wine and box of pastries from her favorite bakery just down the street. They would close the shop and sit in the backroom, where together they would tell their endless stories and get drunk in each other’s company. Maybe Aziraphale would read from one of the books, or maybe Crowley would rattle off his newest wild theories. They could talk so freely there and just be away from their lives. They did not have to worry about Heaven or Hell in those times, and they didn’t have to worry about the Earth either. They could just _be_ on their own, and that was all the more that the angel craved now. She was no longer angry with Crowley, she just wanted to carve out a piece of the world to sit with him. In his company, as an angel and a demon on their own side.


	18. Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: panic attack  
> They set off with their smaller group. Emanuel reminisces, Aziraphale doubts, Crowley comforts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Folks, I am so sorry I missed updating on Tuesday. I was not feeling well and then Wednesday I spent the day catching up on what I didn't do Tuesday. So here we are on Thursday with an extra long update. This is the second to last one before I take a break because I am coming up on lots of midterms. But I'll be back here after the next update later in the semester!

Fort Laramie – Early May

The caravan had reached a trading post and fort where they had stayed for a couple days. This was further north than Crowley had wanted to travel to reach the settlement. It added at least an extra week total travel time. But Aziraphale had insisted that they stay with the group for as long as possible before going there.

Fort Laramie was nearly directly north of where they were supposed to go for the duration of their assignments. This was where they would leave the majority of the group. There were a few young folks who were planning to travel with them. Joan had also decided to come with them. It meant leaving her sister and family behind. She felt that she was limited with her sister, as much as she loved her, she needed to take life into her own hands.

Much to the caravan’s displeasure, Emanuel had also announced that he would be going with Ezra and Anthony. Emanuel was key to the group’s success, but they were not going much further west before they planned to settle, so he assured them that they would make it just fine without his help. It wasn’t his help that they really needed anyway, but no one fully understood that. In the couple of days that they spent at the Fort, Aziraphale made her rounds and tried to bless every traveler that was not going with them. She did what she could to protect the remaining group, but knew as soon as they left, any number of things could happen. She even considered sending a prayer straight to God Herself to keep an eye on the group. But she figured She was too busy and didn’t want to get ridiculed for wasting Her time.

While they were at the trading post, everyone made sure to restock on food and supplies. Crowley bought more coffee and alcohol and Aziraphale explored their local produce. There was not much in season at this point in the year but she found some strawberries, asparagus, zucchini, and broccoli. She also found more dried fruits and nearly bought out their entire supply. They both stocked up on tea and neither bought any supplies.

The following day, the camp woke up as usual, but they were split in two. The majority of the group began their normal preparations to continue westward. But the other, smaller group, prepared to head south. They packed up their four wagons in total, tied in the oxen, and managed the cows. Then they began their trip southward.

The trails here were well defined as they connected several small towns and forts in the area. They made quick travel until they reached the mountains. After a couple of days, they were just to the east of the Rockies. They remained in the plains for as long as possible but eventually, Crowley announced that they needed to enter the mountains.

The humans with the two entities did not hold a high regard for Crowley as a navigator. So, they were thoroughly surprised when they had learned that he was the one that was going to guide them. Emanuel had asked Aziraphale if she thought this was a good idea. She had told him not to worry about a thing. She tried to assure him that Crowley knew where to go and would get them there quickly. When asked how she knew this, she drew a blank. Emanuel was not confident in Crowley as a guide. But he did not know where their intended destination was, so let the issue be.

Crowley, to be entirely honest, was guiding them practically blind. He’d had the instructions in his head for a couple months now, and they hadn’t been particularly important for most of that time. For the majority of the trip, they had been lodged somewhere deep in the recesses of his brain and dust had started to collect there. After retrieving them, he found that they had been a little crumpled by some other, more pressing thoughts. These thoughts had included things such as:

“What does a marriage certificate look like?”

“What is the angel’s favorite kind of tea?”

“My, doesn’t Zira look lovely in that dress and tartan apron.”

“Who is this annoying man, and how can I get rid of him?”

“How on _EARTH_ am I supposed to heal an entire camp without being noticed?”

“Holy shit! The angel is kissing me!”

“What am I supposed to do!?”

Or finally, “Did _I_ just kiss an _angel_?!”

Crowley shook his head briefly to clear these thoughts out of the way. He tried to feel for the instructions again and noticed they were also a little blurry. But with time, and more thought than had been required of him for some long while, they began to clear. He was able to guide them into the mountains and felt confident in their direction.

The mountains made the travel slow and tedious. He did his best to miracle the trails clear before they got near but the terrain was difficult, even with the added help. This would have been easier to get through without the wagons, but he knew the humans wouldn’t part with their belongings. And he certainly stood no chance of convincing the angel to give up her books.

They had just entered the mountains when Aziraphale declared that they should stop for the evening. Being a smaller group, they had moved faster over the past several days, and they had traveled later into the evening. But the shadows were long, and it was getting cold.

When they stopped, Joan and one of the young men with them, began building a fire. They all sat around the fire which was in the middle of their wagons. Joan began fixing the group some supper from their meager rations. Aziraphale turned to Crowley.

“It has been such a long time since I have seen mountains dear. I had almost forgotten how lovely they are.”

“It hasn’t been that long, you went to Iceland a few years ago.”

“That was a volcano! Nothing like proper mountains. Though Iceland is a gorgeous place, I can’t compare it to here. Anyway, that was dreadful, it really was an awful thing. I wish I hadn’t waited so long, but they wouldn’t let me go any earlier.”

“Yeah, eight months is a long time to let a volcano erupt for, they never fail to surprise me.”

The two were talking about the Laki Volcano in 1783. Crowley had heard about it shortly after it began erupting but didn’t give it much thought. That was until the fumes began to drift into the rest of Europe and people became sick. Hell was given credit for it by the humans. But Crowley suspected it was otherwise. He remembered the angel complaining about pleading with Gabriel to let them go put a stop to it. But Gabriel did not relent until nearly eight months into the eruption. It had badly polluted the air, and the humans were not equipped to survive the fumes it carried east. It damaged the crops for the following years and killed a large number of livestock too. Crowley understood cruelty, he was a demon after all. But there was a special form of cruelty that Heaven had, and this he could never understand.

“Anyway dear, I haven’t had the chance to enjoy the mountains in a long time.” Snipped the angel.

“Hmm. Yeah, they’re alright, I guess. Little cold for my taste though.”

“Oh dear, I hadn’t thought about that, it does get rather cold out here doesn’t it. I should have brought more blankets for you.” The angel looked worried now, she looked a little guilty too.

“’ss alright Angel. Don’t worry about it.”

Emanuel came over with a pot of freshly brewed tea and sat down beside them. Crowley gave him a glare and Aziraphale smiled brightly.

“Oh goodness me, is that tea?”

“Yeah, was going to see if you both wanted some.” Replied Emanuel with a soft smile. He had enjoyed the last few days. Without the whole caravan to take care of he had more freedom. He felt a little guilty at having left them but harbored no regret. Emanuel was enjoying spending more time with Ezra. But he was reluctant to spend any unnecessary time with Anthony.

“I would love some dear. Thank you ever so much.” Aziraphale brightened even more and turned to Crowley, “would you like some dear? It’ll help you stay warmer.”

“Yeah sure Angel, that’s fine.” Crowley waved his hand in her direction.

Emanuel glared at Anthony’s dismissive gesture. This went unnoticed by the demon. The tea was poured and passed to the two and Emanuel stayed sitting where he was. Anthony quickly realized that he was not going away. He sat up and decided to give some amount of attention to the following conversation. He watched as angel and human conversed.

“We were just talking about how lovely the mountains are. Had you seen the mountains before this Emanuel?” Aziraphale asked this as if she were talking to a small child.

“Uh, just the ones in Virginia. They aren’t much like these though.”

“What are they like? I’ve never been there; we made a stop in the capital when we first arrived but I am afraid we didn’t see the mountains.”

“Well they are definitely smaller, and warmer. They are very green and the forests are beautiful. I grew up in them, always loved to explore the streams and to find hidden waterfalls.” Emanuel reminisced.

Ezra looked lost in thought as well, then she turned to Anthony and said, “Crowley dear, we should have gone there,” in what was almost a whine.

“Angel, I think you are going to have to add it to your ever-growing list. We’ll be back that way.”

“Yes, that is a wonderful idea!” She then looked as though she were mentally sorting something. She asked more questions about the mountain range and learned that they were called the Appalachians. She had read stories set in them before as they had been the sight of a lot of history in the past couple hundred years. She had also heard about how the original inhabitants had been cast out of the region. When she first heard this was happening many years prior, she had wondered what they had done. But quickly she began to realize that the native peoples had not done anything wrong. She had started to feel that small but ever-present feeling she’d had for the past millennia. She began to feel doubt, questions welled up inside her. How could God let this happen, why could Aziraphale not be sent to help _those_ people? Why was she instead sent to help _these_ people? These people who thought they were God’s chosen people. Aziraphale supposed they were but so were all other humans. Every individual human was just as worthy, so why had she not been allowed to come help? She tried to crush these doubts and remember that there was The Plan. And The Plan should not be questioned. Questions are what got Crowley cast out and she would be damned if she let that happen to her. As an angel, Aziraphale could show Crowley grace and forgiveness. If Aziraphale Fell, there would be no hope for either of them. She began to feel the panic rise with these thoughts.

Emanuel had been happy to talk about his childhood with Ezra. He was having a fantastic time prattling on about all of the wildlife and fauna he had knowledge of. He was so lost in thought that he hadn’t realized that Ezra had begun to cry. He only noticed something was wrong when he heard the sound of Anthony’s voice in a language he couldn’t understand. Emanuel quit talking then and wondered how long Ezra had been upset. What had he said that had made her cry? How could he help? Judging by Anthony’s scowl it would probably be best to not say anything, so he quietly sat by.

Crowley hadn’t been paying much attention to their conversation after Aziraphale had said they should go back to Virginia. Crowley did not want to hear about the human’s childhood experiences, so he tuned it out. But he was quickly brought back to attention when he felt his angel’s emotions change quickly. He cursed himself for not paying attention before and looked at Aziraphale’s aura. It was distressed, worried, and sad. He looked at Emanuel’s aura as he continued to talk and noted it hadn’t changed. He quickly surmised that the man had not intentionally caused whatever he had done, and was, at this point, still unaware of it.

Crowley moved quickly to Aziraphale’s side and as he got close, she made eye-contact with the demon and began to cry silently. He leaned in and asked in Enochian, “Angel, what’s happened?”

Emanuel stopped talking as he said this and Crowley glared at him. This seemed to keep him effectively shut up.

Aziraphale responded to Crowley, “Oh, it’s really nothing dear. Please don’t worry about it.”

“No, Angel, none of that. What’s he said that upset you? I’ll fix it whatever it is.” Crowley implored.

“No, you will think it quite silly of me, it really is nothing dear. The poor dear hasn’t done anything either.”

Crowley let the silence carry for a beat. If only to catch the angel’s attention when he said, “Zira, something’s wrong, you can’t hide your aura from me and you know that. Now, tell me,” Crowley paused then added for emphasis, “please?”

Aziraphale sighed. She really hadn’t wanted anyone to witness this, certainly not Crowley. But she began to tell him honestly and quickly, “Crowley dear, what if I _Fall_? This,” she gestured between them, “is not safe. Someone could come down, or up, any day. And we don’t have an explanation. And the problem is I don’t _trust_ any of them. The only one I trust is _you_ and you’re a demon! We are supposed to be enemies. I am supposed to trust Her Plan. But I don’t know if I do dear, I just find myself doubting more than I care to admit. And it scares me. If I Fall…” she trailed off, wiping tears from her eyes.

Crowley wasn’t sure why Aziraphale was worried about this now of all times. But he did his best to create a calm atmosphere. This wasn’t something demons took it upon themselves to learn or practice. So his attempt was meager, at best. He felt supremely out of his depth.

“Angel, you won’t Fall. You’re too _good_ for that, trust me. I know you, and your doubts are nothing to be concerned about. You still follow your directions. You haven’t done anything but good the entire time we’ve been out here. And no one is coming to check up on us this early in the assignment.” Crowley could feel some of the worry leaving the angel. He doubted it was because of the particular words he was saying. He figured it was more likely that hearing the sound of the demon was grounding somehow. Crowley moved ever so slightly closer to the angel and tentatively reached out his arms to wrap the angel in a thin and bony embrace.

As soon as Aziraphale felt Crowley’s open arms, she sank into him. She knew that there was no real cause for concern at this moment. But the worry and fear of Falling had come upon Aziraphale so quickly that there was nothing that could be done to stop it. Crowley was a home to the angel. As she sank into his arms, she wrapped her own arms around the demon and let a feeling of peace wash over her.

“You’re right dear, I am so sorry to have worried you.”

“Don’t you dare apologize Angel!” Crowley hissed in mock anger.

Aziraphale chuckled and took a calming breath. She had forgotten in her worry to breathe. The angel usually made a habit of breathing because it unnerved people when she didn’t. She breathed again and let herself be reminded of where she was and who was here.

“I think, Angel, that you could use some good old-fashioned sleep, just like the humans.” Crowley said from behind Aziraphale.

Aziraphale sat up and away from Crowley quickly. It seemed that she hadn’t heard the demon’s last statement, “Emanuel!” she exclaimed.

Emanuel was still within earshot since there wasn’t anywhere to go. He turned back to Ezra and their eyes met. He saw Anthony frown behind her, the man looked a bit confused.

“I must have frightened you dear, I am so sorry. I do hope you don’t think that was your fault. You were telling the most lovely story, I am so sorry I ruined it.”

“Oh. Um well. You don’t have to apologize, it is alright, really. Is there anything I can get for you?”

“That is so kind of you my dear, I am quite alright now,” Aziraphale tried to give one of her beaming smiles but it was a bit sad still. This didn’t go unnoticed by Emanuel or Crowley.

“Zira, let’s just call it a night, yeah?”

“I suppose I could do with some sleep,” she relented.

“I hope you are feeling better tomorrow Ezra.” Emanuel waved them off as the two went over to their wagon. He was not sure what was going on but was glad for once that Anthony was there. He seemed to understand Ezra on a level that Emanuel couldn’t fathom.

The two climbed up into the small space of the wagon. As they stood in the back Crowley avoided eye-contact and said, “Um well, do you want me to get you anything? I’ll just stay up tonight so I won’t be a bother.”

“Nonsense dear. I am sure you are exhausted. We can both sleep here.”

“Right, okay,” Crowley moved to sit down in the small space, “maybe I should make it a little bigger though?”

“Oh, well I figured it would be fine. We both slept in here the second night if I recall.”

Crowley nodded at this. It wasn’t that he had a problem with sleeping close to the angel. It was just that, well, it was a very small space. They would have to be very _close_ indeed. But maybe his angel needed this right now. And if that was what she needed to feel safe, then who was he to say otherwise?

They laid out a few blankets from the trunks and then laid together on the wood boards of the wagon. They were covered in another blanket and Aziraphale quickly settled in. She looked as though she were used to this, as if this were something she did every night. It absolutely baffled the demon because he _knew_ the angel hated sleeping. How could she look so comfortable and at peace here?

Aziraphale finally let herself relax. She released the tension that she didn’t know she had been holding and let the small space feel like a comforting hug. Small spaces were not something she was ordinarily comfortable with, but she found they were nice when they were the result of Crowley on one-side and her books on the other. She could feel Crowley’s gaze on her, but it wasn’t judgmental. It was a kind gaze, so she didn’t look back. She instead focused on trying to sleep. Sleeping was not something that came to her easily but for once she genuinely wanted to partake in it. She focused on getting rid of lingering tension in her corporation, one muscle at a time. She focused first on her shoulders, willing them to relax. Then further down her arms, and into her hands. Once they were resting soundly, she focused on her legs, chest, and neck. Before she was aware of it, she had drifted off soundly to sleep.

Crowley had watched as the angel fell asleep. He knew that she could feel his attention but noticed that she didn’t seem to care. Her aura was less distressed now. It wasn’t back to the usual bright and loving aura he was used to. But it was relaxed and calm. Eventually, the aura stilled enough for him to realize that the angel was asleep. He then settled down and fell into a deep sleep as well.


	19. Eden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, Crowley and Aziraphale are in love, have been for some millennia...  
> Also, time doesn't make much sense here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to make this chapter a separate work on its own because I think it is kind of cute. The pronouns jump around a lot in this chapter. In the beginning they both have they/them, later it is back to he and she. At the end, only they/them are used because for a while they just kind of become one. 
> 
> This is going to be the last chapter for a while folks. I felt like the end of this chapter was a good stopping point and I have a lot of work for my college classes to do :(   
> In the meanwhile I will probably write some other short one-shot stories when I have the chance.

Eden – Unknown Day – Daytime

Crowley was high up in The Tree. The demon had found a sunny spot, and it was a beautiful day. Granted, Crowley supposed, every day in the garden was beautiful. They were spread out on a wide branch, letting their scales soak up the sun. There were small noises below on the garden’s floor. The noises were coming nearer, but not close enough to be of any concern. Crowley ignored them and continued to doze. Suddenly though, a noise filtered through, “Crowley dear, is that you up there? I can see your tail, don’t try to hide.”

 _The_ angel was here? Crowley quickly moved and began to slither down the tree. “Yesss angel? I wasss jussst taking a nap.”

“Oh, so sorry to have awakened you. Wanted to say hi is all. It is just such a lovely day, and well, I thought, maybe, if you weren’t busy, you might want to go for a walk?”

Crowley sighed. They weren’t genuinely annoyed but enjoyed the theatrics anyway. If they could make the angel flustered, which was admittedly a simple task, then it would be worth it. Crowley always enjoyed watching the angel fret over little nothings. They turned back into their more human form, with wings outstretched.

“Alright angel,” Crowley rolled their shoulders, “let’s walk.”

The angel beamed in a way that only they could. It was more than a smile because it lit up their entire body. It couldn’t be described as heavenly, there was never any other angel that could master such radiance. It was something that was unique to Aziraphale and only Crowley ever got to bear witness to it.

They walked and talked about nothing of importance. They crossed through the garden. Crowley named all of the plants, explaining which ones they had helped create. Aziraphale listed off all of the birds they heard and animals they saw. The angel had helped design many of the birds and had devoted a lot of time to perfecting their songs.

Eventually they came back around to The Tree and sat beneath it. They leaned against one another and let their wings brush. Unsure of what was coming over them, Crowley spoke suddenly, but smoothly.

“Angel?” Crowley asked.

“Yes, my dear?”

“Do you remember that first day, on the wall?”

“Of course,” hummed the angel.

“When you said you gave your sword away, I think that I realized then that I loved you…” Crowley trailed off but was not yet finished, “Then you shielded me from the rain. Why did you do that?”

Aziraphale was silent in thought for some time. They didn’t look surprised, just contemplative.

“I think,” they began, then changed their mind and began again, “I did not know why at the time. But now I can say for sure, that it was because I knew that I would love you. Not because I am an angel. But because you, my dear, are the only one who has ever seen me. _You_ are the one who matters.”

Crowley did not seem surprised by this revelation either. They turned to the angel then, and wrapped their wing around Aziraphale, pulling them in close. They both sat as close to each other as humanly possible. When that wasn’t close enough, they extended themselves beyond their human forms and pulled one another in closer still. They only stopped when there was no real space left between their two existences. Only then did they settle and rest.

They stayed this way for what may have been an entire lifetime or may have only been a few seconds. Suddenly they were interrupted by a sound. It was far off but piercing into the space they occupied. It sounded like an animal’s cry. Possibly the bellow of an elephant, the roar of a lion, or the bugle of an elk. It stirred them from their peace and they moved swiftly back. Crowley was the first to disappear from the garden, shortly followed by Aziraphale.

***

Crowley opened his eyes and watched as the angel’s eyes fluttered open as well. He remembered the dream as though he had been there. It was as if he had been truly there, in the garden. This being only the second dream in his existence, he figured this was normal. Crowley smiled at Aziraphale and saw her small smile in return.

“Mmm, morning Angel.”

“Good morning Crowley. Did you sleep well?”

“Hm, yeah. Even had a dream, that never happens.”

“Oh? What was your dream about dear?”

“The garden. You were there too,” Crowley smiled, then saw the expression on Aziraphale’s face stutter. He mentally cursed himself, why had he mentioned that the angel was there. That was weird, wasn’t it?

“Um, Crowley,” began Aziraphale, “what were we doing in the garden?” she asked innocently.

Ah yes, now how did he explain that. He couldn’t very well say they had professed their love to one another and proceeded to share their existences. Crowley was blushing now, his thin face was bright red in the morning light.

“We, er… we went on a walk and talked about the garden.” That was true, it was just a partial truth. What Aziraphale didn’t know couldn’t hurt her, right?

“Oh well, um,” Crowley noticed that the angel was blushing as well, “do you think that… no, that is a ridiculous thought… but um maybe… do you think, would it be possible, that we might have, um, shared a dream…”

The silence that fell was one of those rare silences that most people will go their entire lives without experiencing. It was a deep silence that filled the heads of both entities present. Their minds drew blanks and try as they might, no thoughts could surface. Eventually Crowley was able to break through and managed to blink.

“Angel? You aren’t mad, are you?”

“Goodness me, no. Why would I be mad?”

“It’s just that, well, maybe you were thinking that I tricked you?” Crowley was worried about this. He hadn’t realized that the angel he had talked to in his dream was indeed _his_ angel. The real one. And he was desperately frightened that now Aziraphale would leave him or blame him. Think that he had entered her dream to trick her into saying something so _damning_ that there was no way to back-track. No way to hide.

“I wasn’t thinking that at all dear! Why? Did you do that on purpose? Did you know it was really me?”

Well, shit, thought the demon. He should have kept his mouth shut. He should have never voiced his fears because now Aziraphale was suspicious.

“No, no, no Angel. I had no idea. Please, you’ve got to trust me, please Angel.” Crowley pleaded.

“So… so you really do… you really do, um, love me then?” The angel whispered, she sounded to Crowley so scared and vulnerable. He hated himself for having caused this. He hated that it had been real. He never would have been so foolish had he known.

“Uh, yeah…” Crowley’s throat went dry and he found no more words. He did not look at the angel’s eyes.

Aziraphale reached a hand up and onto Crowley’s thin face. She nudged him to look back at her and held his gaze. She had never seen the demon so afraid. He had been brave, so now, she figured, it was her turn.

“Be not afraid dear,” Aziraphale said breathlessly, it earned a small smile from the demon, “for I am in love with you too. I did not always understand that, but you are the only being for me.”

It was Crowley’s turn to cry now. It began with a few small tears but as the angel wrapped him in a tight embrace, he sobbed. His human form shook, and his being felt as though it was too small. In his flood of relief and emotion, he stopped time. He hadn’t done so intentionally, but he wanted the time and space to just _be_. To be here, with his angel, in peace, in love.

He couldn’t banish the thoughts that worked their way through the cracks. They reminded him that he was a demon, he wasn’t a being worthy of love. But the angel’s embrace was stronger than his thoughts. Every time they showed their face, Aziraphale’s heart destroyed them and banished them to only the deepest recesses of Crowley’s mind. They both knew that they would never really be gone. But for now, they were hidden away.

After some long time outside of time itself, Crowley moved in Aziraphale’s arms. They locked eyes again and smiled. There were no more words that needed to be said for the moment. They just reveled in one another’s attentions. Without giving it thought, Crowley started time again and they heard the sounds of the others outside.

Their worries were far from over. They were still on assignment and this didn’t change their situation. But it did give them one thing. It gave them the most powerful thing that any being could have, and that was hope.


End file.
